Chronic Wellness
Advancements in medicine enable us to live longer, but the proportion of our lives spent in ill health has actually increased. We are doing better, but feeling worse. Even if we receive the best medical care, symptoms and routines concerning our treatment plan cause stress and discomfort to our daily lives. "Chronic Wellness" looks at ways to improve patient experience and simplify self-management of chronic diseases by integrating fun, familiarity and empathy into the medical devices that we are expected to use on a regular basis. The focus of the project is the younger age group: children and adolescents living with chronic diseases. By creating opportunities for people to embrace their situation from the beginning of their journey with their lifelong conditions, design has the power to improve compliance, make chronic diseases less disabling for individuals, and change the way people experience pain by replacing negative emotions with positive ones.
BioEsin Arsan is a designer who grew up in Ankara, Turkey. In 2008, she moved to New York to pursue a Master's degree in Industrial Design. Prior to attending Pratt, she lived and studied in Italy and Turkey. She holds a BFA with highest honors in Interior Architecture from Bilkent University. Esin is a Fulbright Scholar and the recipient of the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship. She loves to travel and discover homes away from home, and aspires to be helpful to life.
esin.arsan[at]gmail[dot]com
http://www.esinarsan.com
Advisor
Bruce Hannah
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Nina D'Amario
Forcelines
The objects in my thesis represent my interest in kinetics. I am fascinated by the oloid, a geometric form, and have used it to explore color theory and motion tracking. I have also employed the principle of tension/compression to build a series of kites which have unique aerodynamic properties.
BioOriginally from Massachusetts, I have a background in languages and graphic design. My focus is now on a life-long interest in making things. Upon graduations, I hope to establish a line of objects which raise awareness and funds for local and global education initiatives.
ninadamario[at]gmail[dot]com
Advisor
Henry Yoo
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Lin Zhang
Poetic Aging
Aging is the accumulations of changes in an organism or object over time. Aging in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Looking at aging as both inspiration and destination, my thesis deals with the perception of time, self, and our connection with others. I'm interested in the psychological transformation during aging and how changing can be designed into product as a visual cue to trigger that transformation. By going back and forth between aging in humans and aging in nature, simple metaphors were adopted and translated into drawing, playing and designing.
BioLin Zhang spent her first 22 years in China. At the age of 18 she found Industrial Design as the perfect way of marrying her passion for both art and physics. After graduation from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, she came to Pratt looking for different design experiences and culture nutrients. Lin loves sketching, working, sometimes thinking with her hands. Her belief in balance, synthesis and poetry is rooted in her inherited eastern philosophy, and emerges through her design.
zhanglin_1213[at]hotmail[dot]com
Advisor
Bruce Hannah