High School Design Challenge: Inclusive Design

$350 Award Opportunity for Boston Area High School Students Interested in Design & Inclusivity

CoDesign Collaborative is seeking six motivated high school juniors and seniors in the Greater Boston area to participate in an Inclusive Design Challenge. The objective of this Design Challenge is to encourage future designers to think creatively about how to design and problem-solve inclusively. How can we design a better world for everyone, everywhere? This challenge will lead students through an exercise to learn to design with specific communities of interest using principles of inclusive design.

The goals of this challenge are to:

1. Inspire students to rethink and transform the world around them through developing design skills and introducing design as a career path.

2. Learn inclusive design skills: participatory design, asset-centric design, empathy, authentic awareness.

3. Learn design skills: brainstorming, sketching, ideation, low and high-fidelity hand prototyping, testing, iteration, presenting, taking, and giving feedback.

4. Equip students with the language to address accessibility and enable them to address and advocate for inclusivity in their daily lives.

5. Generate a final, hand-fabricated, prototype, a presentation, and create a portfolio page!

The Inclusive Design Challenge will be led by two design educators with architecture backgrounds.

The Inclusive Design Challenge will include two Saturday workshops in April and a final presentation for participants, parents, and their community to see the final prototypes. This program will take students through a full design process and teach them applicable skills in design, creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, and a presentation that they can apply to their schooling and future careers.

Award: The program will accept six students who will be awarded $350 each at the end of the challenge.

Location: Boston, Massachusetts (Location is walking distance from the T)

Eligibility:

High school juniors and seniors in the Greater Boston Area. Applicants must show an interest in design/creativity but do not need a background in design. Creative skills are encouraged and/or interdisciplinary skills in STEAM. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. We especially encourage women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities to apply.

Selection criteria:

We are seeking motivated, self-directed, and passionate applicants who are driven to better their communities.