Carleton industrial design graduate Alicia Stewart won the 2018 gold award in the national Innovative Design for Accessibility (IDEA) competition run by Universities Canada.
Stewart designed a comprehensive art kit for people with cognitive disabilities while working with the BEING Studio for her thesis project.
The BEING studio is a local art collective that supports artists with developmental disabilities who are working in visual art and creative writing.
Stewart said she spent a lot of time at the studio, observing artists while they worked, and analyzing aspects of their creative process that could be improved.
“I realized a large part of their objective was to give these artists a chance to express themselves in a way that is their own, and at the root of that was an independent aspect,” she said.
“I then started noticing that throughout the art-making process they lost some of their independence in instances such as mixing paint, and cleaning their brushes.”
“I really wanted to help create the tools that would help them to carry out these processes on their own so that they could feel their art pieces are truly their own,” she added.
The kit includes a paint mixing assistant, a stand to personalize the choice of colors, and rubber components for the comfort of the hand.
Lois Frankel, an industrial design professor at Carleton, oversaw Stewart’s project.
“I identified aspects of their working processes that could be improved or perhaps were not optimal,” she said.
Frankel said the program always has a studio project due by the end of the year.
“In Alicia’s case, she was able to 3-D print and build an actual size model of her kit, as well as technical drawings, use-cycle illustrations, a video, and a booklet describing the highlights of her concept.”
Stewart said she hopes her art kit changes the landscape of design.
“I really need to find a purpose for a design, and with that means considering the use, but furthermore the user,” she said.
“I think that as we consider others and empathize with the problems it not only creates a more concrete solution, but it also helps to shed some light on issues that may not be commonly talked about,” she added.
Frankel said Stewart deserves the award.
“Alicia earned her award through consistent and hard work, reflective synthesis of her observations, and her strong design skills,” she said.
“Her detailed concept demonstrated a solution to a problem she was able to clearly identify and solve.”
“It is wonderful that she has received so much acclaim and it makes me proud,” she added.
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