Q&A Session on Entering the 2021 National High School Design Competition

The 2021 National High School Design Competition challenges teens around the country to design a healthier world for all. Do you have questions on where to begin on developing your design idea? Could you use some tips on getting inspiration while working individually or collaboratively with your team? Are you looking for motivation and curious to hear how designers today are tackling the same question you’ve been asked to address in this year’s design challenge?

Join us for an exciting Q&A session with Ellen Lupton, Cooper Hewitt’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Design, and Rachel Smith, designer and founder of Design to Combat COVID-19, as they share their insights on the design process and working within the health and design space. Students and educators are welcome!

Don’t miss this opportunity to ask Ellen and Rachel your questions before entries are due on February 22, 2021. If you can’t join live, the program will be recorded and made available on the Resources page following the session. Be sure to also check out the FAQs and explore the current Resources, including the new Learning Lab. You are encouraged to submit any burning questions in advance to DesignCompetition@si.edu.

Ellen Lupton is Senior Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. Her exhibitions include Face Values: Understanding Artificial Intelligence, How Posters Work, and The Senses: Design Beyond Vision. Ellen is the Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair at MICA in Baltimore, where she has authored numerous books on design processes, including Thinking with Type, Graphic Design Thinking, and Graphic Design: The New Basics. Her most recent books, Design Is Storytelling and Health Design Thinking, were published by Cooper Hewitt. She is an AIGA Gold Medalist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Rachel Smith is a Latina designer and founder of Design to Combat COVID-19, a virtual community of over 2,000 creatives. By day, Rachel is a Senior Product Designer at Zillow. The rest of the time, the Los Angeles native works on a range of creative projects, both within her local community and globally, to support communities affected by COVID-19 and underserved communities across six continents.

 

Accessibility

This free program will feature a Q&A session hosted through Zoom, with the option to dial in as well. Details will be emailed to you upon registration. This program includes closed captioning. For general questions or if we can provide additional accessibility services or accommodations to support your participation in this program, please email us at DesignCompetition@si.edu  or let us know when registering.