Donald is an active man who enjoys rock-climbing, despite having had both legs amputated at age 24, one right below the knee and one halfway down his shin. He dances with the Heidi Latsky Dance Company, where his unique style of dance, which incorperates his wheelchair and tricks with it, can be showcased. He has learned to embrace his new body as an amputee by taking on the challenge of new activities, especially dance. Opening and Opening Loops was created for Donald to wear as part of the On Display performance, an interactive fashion show and dance performance. 

The wearable's design was based on Donald's general feeling of always being open and exposed because of his asymmetrical amputation. The wearable consists of styrene strips attached with 3D-printed pieces to many sashes around his torso. The strips originate from the same place on one side and fan out on the opposite side, as a way to represent the asymmetry of his legs. The strips expand when he bends his knee; however even when they are contracted, they remain partially expanded and open to represent Donald’s feelings of vulnerability and being exposed.

"Second Skin": A sock-like wearable that evokes a snake in order to plays with people’s perceptions of weakness and strength through in humans and animals.

Peter is a dancer for the company Heidi Latsky Dance. He  The wearable "Second Skin" is designed to resonate with him and represent him to the audience  in an emotional and metaphorical sense. The wearable slips onto the leg about 3/4 up the leg .  With slits running down the middle and flat, scale-like bjects with intricate designs sewn into the sides and running diagonally down the leg.  Flux is meant to evoke a snake,.   Someone unfamiliar with snakes might assume they are weak and helpless without limbs, not understanding that snakes have a compensatory strength.  Similarly, when people see Peter in his wheelchair they are likely to make assumptions about what he can and can’t do. They would not guess that he is a great dancer and uses his wheelchair in his dance performances to better his craft and create something beautiful.

The Final Post:

This post showcases your final design through two parts:

1. An Abstract that shows the final project a concise series of images and diagrams. Its purpose is to allow a viewer or visitor to understand the project in its entirety in a few brief minutes. It is mainly concerned with the What of your project but must contain an overview of the Why and your entire narrative arc. This part of your post will be used in your 2-3 minute NuVu community presentation and will likely be the portion reporters, colleges, and family will see first. 
2. The Process which tells the comprehensive story of how your idea was born, developed, and manifested. The arc of the story should encompass the, How of your project in a compelling narrative. It showcases your design process including your brainstorming, each of your iterations, and your final prototype. It allows the viewer to delve deeply into your process. This post will be used in your review presentation at the end of the session. 

The title of this post must be The name of your project. 

Slides:

The Final post has 15-20 slides. Every slide MUST have a title. Captions are a good idea as well.

ABSTRACT PORTION

1. TITLE WITH TAGLINE (1 Slide): This slides shows a crisp, clear final image and the title of your project. with a pithy blurb describing the project. The image, name, and tagline should draw a viewer in. 

Examples:

• The Fruit - A line following, light tracking robot
• Segmented Vehicle - A vehicle that conforms to the landscape
• Cacoon - Wearable sculpture exploring the concept of transformation and death

2. CONTEXT IMAGE: (1 slide) This is a single image that shows a clear precedent or evocative image. This image helps set up the why in a compelling way, sets the stage for your narrative, and will help frame the entire presentation. The caption of this slide (set with the Edit Captions button when editing your post) should be the text of the Thesis Statement/Problem & Solution. You will read these while presenting this slide. No Text on the slide.

3. THESIS STATEMENT / PROBLEM & SOLUTION SLIDE (1 Slide) : This is a TEXT ONLY slide for visitors to your portfolio. In consultation with your coach you will either create a Thesis Statement or state the Problem/Solution. You will skip past this slide in the presentation as you will have read the content in the Context Image.

Problem/Solution: This works best for a project with a clear problem that leads to a describable physical solution.

This slide answers the questions:

• What is the problem I am trying to Solve? This is likely different for each project in a studio. Be clear and use the problem to set up the narrative for your presentation.
  • Example: The Problem: Design a vehicle for a mountainous world with difficult terrain to traverse.
• How did I solve it?. This is your 1 sentence project description with an optional additional 1-2 sentences. 
  • Example: The Solution: A segmented vehicle with a universal joint system that handles mountainous terrain by conforming to the landscape.

Thesis: Thesis statements are appropriate for a conceptual project with a nuanced or complex generative narrative. Your thesis states the Why and How clearly and succinctly in 1-3 sentences.

• Examples:
  • The Cocoon:  A wearable sculpture that explores the concept of transformations and death. The Cocoon explores the spiritual journey beyond the human experience; what it means to be human, how wonder effects us, and the concept of what happens after death.
  • Body Accordion: A musical prosthetic that translates the wearer’s body movements into a dynamic multimedia performance. The Body Accordion converts flex sensor input to sound through Arduino, MaxMSP, and Ableton Live. 
  • Seed to Soup Animation: A whimsical animation about the slow food movement. Seed to Soup showcases a holistic method of cooking. From garden, to kitchen, to dinner table.
  • Antlers: A wearable sculpture inspired by antlers found in the deer and antelope family. "Antlers" explores the comparison between armor and attraction. 

4. FUNCTIONAL DIAGRAM: A diagram showing some aspect of the functionality. These can include:

• How one uses or interacts with the project
• The overall behavior of the project over time
• For a complex interactive project, this can be a clear diagram of the software behavior\

5. FINAL IMAGES: (3 slides) The last slides should have images of the final project. These images should be taken in the photo booth, cropped, and adjusted for contrast, brightness, etc. Choose a wide variety of images that show the project from different perspectives. 

• 2 slides: project in photo booth
• 1 slide: an image of the project in use.

PROCESS PORTION

6. PRECEDENT SLIDES (2 slides minimum, 3 slides maximum):  Precedents are any projects that inspired you creatively or gave you technical guidance. No Text.

• 1 Slide - Conceptual Precedent
• 1 Slide - Technical Precedent
• 1 Slide - Additional Precedent

7. INITIAL SKETCHES/CONCEPT DIAGRAM (1 slide minimum, 2 slides maximum): These slides show your initial, generative ideas in sketch form. You can think of this as a sketch of the big idea, it is the chief organizing thought or decision behind the design presented in the form of a basic sketch or diagram. If you do not have a clear concept sketch it is fine to make one after the fact. These should clean, clear drawings. No Text.

8. ITERATIONS: (3 slides minimum, 5 slides maximum): The next part of the process post are the iterations you documented in your daily posts. Explain your design decisions and how your project changed at each step.

• For build studios, choose 3-5 representative iterations of your project with 1 slides per iteration. The images should show clear, major design changes. 
• For digital or graphics studios, have a slide for each important design decision. Generally it is best to avoid screen shots. These could include:
  • A storyboard slide
  • A slide with multiple images showing graphical character development.
  • Stylistic explorations

9. DIAGRAMS: (1 slides minimum) Diagrams of the final project.

Build studios will need at least 1-2 additional diagrams:

• Construction Diagram:  A diagram offering insight on how the project is put together
  • Ideally, this will be an exploded axonometric
  • At minimum this can be a labeled disassembled photo  
• Electronics Diagram: A circuit schematic showing project inputs, outputs, and architecture.

Digital studios should have a diagram of the storyboard and flow of the project.

10. ADDITIONAL FINAL IMAGES: (1 slides minimum) Additional final images showing the culmination of your process

Title the post “Brief” and post in “Writing”.

The Brief should have a strong narrative that ties together the Why, How and What of your project through clear, cogent writing. Tell the story of how your idea was born, developed, and manifest.

Create 1 post titled “The Brief” (v1 or v2 or final?) with text that includes the following 2 items, numbered:

1. A 1-2 sentence project description for your transcript. This will serve as the basis of the Project Description that appears in your transcript. This description should not include the name of the project and should be written in the third person. On Thursday you and your teammates will add this under project settings.
   examples:
   Night Light Blankie: A child's sensory blanket that provides comfort and privacy in the high stress environment of the hospital using weight, textures, and light. The blanket transforms into a mini light up fort over a child’s head.
   Cocoon: a shroud that explores human spirituality and the concept of life after death through the use of repetitive religious iconography. Composed of over 300 pieces of laser cut balsa wood lined with space tape, the icons are arranged using a mathematical strange attractor.

2. A 1-2 paragraph brief for your project based on the description below. This text will be edited by the NuVu writing coach. You will have the opportunity to revise this text before the final presentation. The primary purpose of The Brief is to explain, entice, and convince the reader that your project is amazing and important. Imagine your project on display in the Museum of Modern Art. The Brief is hanging on the wall next to your work. In 1-2 paragraphs, a viewer should understand what your project is, why it exists, and how you made it. More importantly, the viewer should be interested and care. You will draw them into your project through a compelling narrative. Your Brief MUST include concise and compelling information about the client you are working with, their condition, and how that relates to your project design. Resist the urge to say "Josh couldn't bowl so we designed a bowling apparatus for him."  Instead, think about how the client and their personality inform the narrative of your design process.
   
   Things to think about:
   • The what is a clear statement of the thesis or problem+solution. Your project description for your transcript (#1 above) can be adapted for this purpose.
   • The why explains how your project changes the world. It is the reason your project exists – what social issue is it engaging, who is your project helping, how does the project change the world, and what important social, intellectual, or technical questions does it raise? The scope of the why can vary widely.
   • The how briefly explains what technical prowess, innovative methods, or cool materials you used in your solution.
   • Think of the reader - it is good to imagine that a college admissions officer AND a potential employer in the field of your design should both be able to understand and be excited by the project based on your writing.

Write in the Third person in an explanatory fashion. Resist using I, WE, OUR, or YOU and focus on describing the work.

Here is an example from Penelope the Pain-O-Monster:

Pediatricians and other doctors find it challenging to collect accurate self reported information from children about their level of pain due to lack of communication skills, fear, anxiety, and discomfort. Traditional 1-10 pain scales do not fully address these issues, often leading to uncomfortable children and inaccurate symptom information. Penelope the Pain-O-Monster is a cute plush toy that uses integrated pressure sensors to allow children to express their source and level of pain through play.

A previous project, The EmoOwl, helped children with autism to express themselves by translating motion into color. Penelope the Pain-O-Monster grew out of the desire to expand children’s health menagerie with a different stuffed animal, one that makes the pain charts patients use to express their pain more interactive and easier for a child to use. Because research has shown that playing with stuffed animals can take children’s mind off pain, an additional “Fun” mode was added to distract from pain and anxiety. The handcrafted stuffed animal uses force sensors in different body parts that light up from blue to red depending on how hard they are pushed to show the child’s pain level. The hope is that, as one of many future healthcare friends, Penelope can help sick children feel safer while providing more useful information to care providers.

In collaboration with Heidi Latsky Dance, NuVu students, led by Coaches Rosa Weinberg and Jenny Kinard, created 5 sculptural wearables for Heidi and 4 of her performers for an installation of ON DISPLAY. These were debuted this past weekend for a performance as part of the Reelabilities Film Festival. ON DISPLAY is a deconstructed fashion show, offering a commentary on society’s obsession with body image. The installation allows performers and the public alike to fully witness each other.

As part of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, NYU Tisch School of the Arts hosted On Display Global: Impact through installations on December 2nd and 3rd in New York City. On Display is an installation by renowned choreographer Heidi Latsky that serves as a deconstructed art exhibit/fashion show - a commentary on the body as spectacle and society’s obsession with body image.

Working in collaboration with Heidi Latsky, NuVu students designed wearables for four of her performers for On Display Global. On Display uses fashion as a tool of social justice aiming to celebrate the beauty of difference. Each performer has a disability and teams of NuVu students worked closely with each of the performers to design individualized wearables that highlight a passion, experience or personality trait.

More info on the Juxtapose studio here. Projects included:
Morphing Scales by Eli Krieger, Alana Press
Unraveling Tutu by Aidan Geary, Mason Vega
Jerronimo by Acacia Plesch, Ben Cohen, Ariana DeFranc, Grace Cassels
Peter’s Chestplate by Dylan Norris, Joseph Cybul

As part of the Juxtapose Studio, NuVu students designed five wearables for choreographer Heidi Latsky and four of her performers. These pieces will be worn as part of ON DISPLAY on Saturday, March 4th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm in the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery at the JCC Manhattan (Amsterdam and 76th).

The event is part of the Reelabilities Film Festival and is free and open to the public.