Team Tools for the Homeless: IDENTIFY

Team Tools for the Homeless had a great first week! We have identified two potential areas that we want to focus our research: Identification theft among homeless individuals Access to proper hygiene while homeless As a team, we have begun our research, paying close attention to some of the major implications of each problem space. Identification Theft… … makes it more difficult for homeless individuals to check-in to shelters … makes it more difficult for homeless individuals to apply for jobs … makes it more difficult for homeless individuals to receive public aid such as food stamps … leaves homeless … Continue reading Team Tools for the Homeless: IDENTIFY

Chapstickers: IDENTIFY

This first week we focused on research and problem spaces.  Specifically, we found the two most common forms of arthritis – osteoarthritis and rheumatoid.  The former occurs when the cartilage between two bones wears away, resulting in bone-on-bone contact which can be extremely painful. The latter occurs when the body’s immune system attacks one’s own joint capsule lining which can also lead to pain.  With regards to different chapstick containers, there are many different kinds to consider. There is the classic cylindrical container that sports a pull-off cap, as well as one that is more of a tub in that, … Continue reading Chapstickers: IDENTIFY

Team Homemade Pride: IDENTIFY

Houston is a city in crisis. The aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey pushed thousands more people onto the streets with nowhere else to turn. Of these individuals, LGBT+ homeless youth face a unique array of challenges in their daily lives where discrimination, rejection, and harassment have undermined the ability for many to find any safe community to coexist peacefully. Trying to address the issues of establishing a sense of community and security in these individuals’ lives proposes us the unique challenge of first, identifying the underlying causes of this rejection and then empowering those at Hatch Youth to be actively involved … Continue reading Team Homemade Pride: IDENTIFY

Team Design Journal:IDENTIFY

Welcome to Team DFA Design Journal’s first update! As our team name implies, our project this semester will entail working on birthing a DFA Design Journal. Why? There is not yet a standardized way for DFA studios to share their projects (buzzwords: cross-communicate and cross-pollinate). Our users are DFAers and we assume their day-to-day involves DFA. By increasing reference to works that’s being done/has been done we have the potential to significantly impact their lives. We have found that our project differs from other typical Rice DFA projects, in that we kinda have our solution already. So our first pivot … Continue reading Team Design Journal:IDENTIFY

Team boxWater: IDENTIFY

Hi! We are team boxWater and we are working on an installation piece to visualize and empathize with our consumption for the Solar Studios on Rice University’s campus. The Solar Studios are a student and community art gallery housed in solar-powered shipping containers. In the past they have featured works from artists at Rice and in the community. Lina Dib, the Director of the Solar Studios, has tasked us with responding to the issues of water consumption and conservation, and sustainability in Houston. First, we’ll introduce ourselves. I am Greg, the author of this blog post and the team lead. … Continue reading Team boxWater: IDENTIFY

Hermann Park: IDENTIFY

Although we still haven’t decided on a team name yet, me (Beril Uzmen), David Moon, Viney Raghavan, Aitash Deepak and Kate Landry are very excited to work on this project concerning our neighbor Hermann Park. This will be Aitash and Viney’s first DFA project, we are very enthusiastic to teach them the design process and welcome them to DFA. Our goal as a team is to help communicate Hermann Park Conservancy sustainability and resilience practices to the park visitors and greater public. We also aim to raise awareness to  the significance of these sustainable practices in Hermann Park. We believe … Continue reading Hermann Park: IDENTIFY

Writing Utensil: IDENTIFY

Meet the team! My name is Josie Garza and I am a freshman at Baker College. I am majoring in Computer Engineering. I am originally from San Antonio, Texas. I enjoy reading, theatre, art, and music. I am really excited to be on a design team this semester! Hi! I’m Nicole Mitchell and I’m a junior at Brown majoring in computer science and minoring in engineering design. I love hiking, running and skiing. This is my fourth semester with DFA and first time leading a project. I’m excited to get started! My name is Shane Digiovanna and I am a … Continue reading Writing Utensil: IDENTIFY

Dish Drop ReDesign: IDENTIFY Community Studio

This is the kickoff of a series of events in which any Rice student attending can participate in designing for a new servery dish disposal area. All Rice students have experienced this problem and its frustrations. Now is the time to take our insights and learn how to apply the human-centered design process to this problem. We’ll be hosting 8 events and this is the first one to kick off the project! [Full Spring 2018 Schedule] During this session will define the problems spaces so we can dive deeper during research, IMMERSE. Spend some time looking at your prior knowledge … Continue reading Dish Drop ReDesign: IDENTIFY Community Studio