2018 Design Competition

The 2018 Design Challenge

WHAT WOULD YOU DESIGN TO MAKE THE EVERYDAY ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL?

Nearly 56.7 million people in America are challenged by the environments in which they live and work.* While great strides have been made to design for accessibility, many of our everyday tasks and surroundings still remain a challenge for people of varying abilities. This is where designers (and you!) step in. Designers are creative problem solvers who work to improve all aspects of daily life. They design solutions that eliminate barriers and improve access for all.

The 2018 National High School Design Competition: All Access was inspired by the exhibition Access + Ability and challenged high school students around the country to make the everyday—place, process, or object—accessible for all.

*According to a 2010 US Census Bureau Report

The Selection Process

In Stage One, participants identified a place, process, or object that they use often; identified a problem that makes it less accessible for people with disabilities; and designed a solution for this problem. Participants created a sketch of their ideas and described how the design addressed the challenge. Cooper Hewitt selected three finalists to proceed to Stage Two of the Design Competition through an anonymous judging based on the criteria of innovation, impact, relevance, and communication.

During Stage Two, the three finalist teams furthered their designs using the Stage Two Brief document, and participated in a mentor phone call during April 2018 for initial feedback. Finalists then traveled to Austin to attend a Mentor Weekend on May 5–6, 2018, where they took a deeper dive into the design process, learned more about solving challenges, visited the University of Texas and IBM to learn more about the design field, and worked on their presentations for Judging Weekend. The three finalist teams traveled to New York City for Judging Weekend on June 2–3, 2018 to visit Cooper Hewitt and present in person to the esteemed judges.

Competition Teacher Resources

Interested in using the 2018 challenge in your classroom? Explore these resources:

Design skills aren’t just for designers! To find new ways to incorporate design into your classroom, visit our free online Educator Resource Center (ERC). The ERC hosts over 400 design-based lesson plans written by teachers like you.

Get Information on the current Design Competition here!

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The 2018 Judges

A diverse panel of creative experts met with the finalists in New York City to review and discuss their designs, and select the winner on June 3, 2018.

2018 judges were:

Caroline Baumann, Director, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Keith Kirkland, CEO and Co-founder, WearWork
Mike Milley, Director of Creative Consulting, LA Studio, Designworks, A BMW Group Company
Eleanor Morgan, SVP Experience, Casper
Elise Roy, Inclusive Design Strategist
Davin Stowell, CEO, Smart Design
Todd Waterbury, Chief Creative Officer, Target

The 2018 Mentors

The finalists attended Mentor Weekend at the Austin Center for Design on May 5–6, 2018. The 2018 mentors were:

Jon Kolko, Founder, Austin Center for Design
Ruby Ku, Director, Austin Center for Design
Mari Anderson Bogdan, Principal Technical Designer, Target
Amelia Kennedy, Principal Designer, Target

The 2018 Competition Winner

Congratulations to Emily Bryson and Natasja Enriquez, seniors at Design and Architecture Senior High School in Miami, FL, for being named the winning team of the 2018 National High School Design Competition! Watch the presentations and explore the projects of all the finalists and honorable mention recipients below.

The winning design was featured at Cooper Hewitt and at cooperhewitt.org. The winner had the opportunity to learn more about design through inspiring mentoring opportunities:

Trip to New York City during National Design Week to attend Cooper Hewitt’s Teen Design Fair.

Trip to visit Target’s headquarters in Minneapolis in summer 2018.

The 2018 Finalists

The finalists were announced online on March 12, 2018. The finalists are: Emily Bryson and Natasja Enriquez, of Miami, FL; Yunru (Daisy) Chen and Adam Margolis, of Miami, FL; and Will Compton, Sean O’Neil, and Eddie Smith, of San Luis Obispo, CA. Congratulations!

Original design sketch for Emily Bryson, age 18, and Natasja Enriquez, age 18, of Miami, FL, Design and Architecture Senior High. Similar to correction tape, a child uses the Igbo tool on any surface to make a textured mark. Made for the living room of any child, though designed for the blind, it enables children who are blind to make art in a tangible way. For the broader public, this tool expands traditional ideas that art is two dimensional, and the sooner children push the limits, the more they can understand the vastness of the art world. Igbo broadens horizons for both the blind and the sighted.

National High School Design Competition Winners Natasja Enriquez (left) and Emily Bryson (right) at Cooper Hewitt during Judging Weekend, June 2–3, 2018. Photo: Dana J. Quigley Photograph

Orignal design sketch for Yunru (Daisy) Chen, age 18, and Adam Margolis, age 18, of Miami, FL, Design and Architecture Senior High, Understanding and interpreting information relayed in audio announcements can pose a challenge to individuals who are Deaf, are hard of hearing, or have hearing loss. aVOIR’s goal is to improve awareness and alertness, and create efficiency and convenience in public places. aVOIR is a pre-installed smartphone software that uses location, cellular signal, and WiFi to connect to intercom systems and intercepts audio announcements made in public places. It then translates the audio into texts, which pop up as notifications on the user’s device.

National High School Design Competition Finalists Yunru (Daisy) Chen (left) and Adam Margolis (right) at Cooper Hewitt during Judging Weekend, June 2–3, 2018. Photo: Dana J. Quigley Photography

Original design sketch for Will Compton, age 18, Sean O’Neil, age 18, and Eddie Smith, age 17 , of San Luis Obispo, CA, San Luis Obispo High School. Our improved design of an octangular picnic table implements a removable seat that is easily detached by removing two pins and is equally simple to replace. This allows ADA-certified wheelchair access to two different sections of the table, without compromising the table’s structural integrity. The picnic table comfortably seats 10–14 adults.

National High School Design Competition Finalists Will Compton (left), Eddie Smith (center), and Sean O’Neil (right) at Cooper Hewitt during Judging Weekend, June 2–3, 2018. Photo: Dana J. Quigley Photography

The 2018 Honorable Mentions

Cooper Hewitt announced 13 Honorable Mentions whose designs were featured with the finalists in a poster exhibition at the museum.

Ellis Carter, age 14, Avi Goel, age 13, and Henry Pham, age 14
Silver Creek High School, San Jose, CA

Nathan Childs, age 17, and Brandon Dockery, age 18
Bel Air High School, Bel Air, MD

Joseph Consolo, age 17, Lourdes Garcia, age 17, and Karen Pena, age 17
Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami, FL

Daniela Contreras, age 17, Diego Macias, age 16, and Marisol McEwan, age 16
Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami, FL

Saniya Drake, age 15, and Dzifa Searcy, age 16
Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago, IL

Erik Gomez, age 17, Luanna Montes, age 17, and Faith Sabar, age 16
Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami, FL

Garrett Heskett, age 17, and Madelene Stacey Villena, age 18
John F. Kennedy High School, Granda Hills, CA

Lilah Lichtman, age 15
The Park School of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD

Mason Ross, age 15
John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, Burien, WA

Paulina Sanchez, age 17, and Ruth Suarez, age 17
Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami, FL

Ian Shang, age 16
University High School, Irvine, CA

Sydney Strawn, age 15, and Leah Weiser, age 15
La Jolla Country Day School, La Jolla, CA

Isabel Zischkau, age 18
Father Lopez Catholic High School, Daytona Beach, FL

Featured Image: National High School Design Competition Judges and Winners at Judging Day at Cooper Hewitt on June 3, 2018. From left to right: Judges Mike Milley, Keith Kirkland, Elise Roy, Caroline Baumann, Todd Waterbury, Eleanor Morgan, and Davin Stowell. Seated from left to right: Winners Natasja Enriquez and Emily Bryson. Photo: Dana J. Quigley Photography