Portfolio Day

After the Final Presentation, you have the opportunity to consider your presentation in light of final feedback and discussion. You will spend additional time reviewing you presentations, refining you portfolio, and polishing you work before it is made public on the internet.

The Self Evaluation is an opportunity for you to reflect on your work during the Studio. Students and Coaches receive the same prompts and categories, and the students will evaluate their own progress and skill levels in Design Skills and Subject Skills applicable to the studio both numerically and textually. Through a narrative, you will also reflect on the quality and rigor of your work, give feedback on the studio, and have the opportunity to receive similar feedback directly from the coach.

• Portfolio & Assessment
• Self Assessment
• Final Brief
• Portfolio Checklist
• Portfolio Boards

Annabelle - 

Donation is a wonderful thing. A perfect world, every cent of the dollar and you donate will go straight to the cause you help to support but, in the real world up to 54% of the dollar is taken to go to the corporation to support funding. They can also go to  advertisements and funding of the employees so they can do the best work possible. When I heard this information, I was shocked the fact that 50% of my dollar and all of that I chose to Donate wasn't necessarily going to go to the people I want to help with was hard to hear. But, don't let that discourage you from donating.  The point of a project to help educate others do their research before making their donations. There are many many small corporations or organizations that have less of an overhead such as 9% or even less. These are the organizations that as the people we should support. I understand that the UNHCR is more accessible, but I want to educate people to look harder. 

Our goal of this project was to create a visual representation that is interactive prove a point. The point is when you donate please research the foundations and organizations that you are donating two, have some of them are less helpful than others. Madeline and I  created A game type piece of art. There are two rectangles one of which represents the bigger organization. The rectangle is bigger but has bigger traps in it so when you put your money in the top and the sides down between the different pegs, your money may get stuck and be gone forever. The money that reaches the bottom box goes to donation of the money get stuff will go to the corporation. On the other side there is a smaller box yes this box maybe smaller but there is only one trap that the coin have to avoid the trap taking about 9% to coins. The smaller box is a more reliable route. Please designs will be installed onto the streets of Cambridge for others to use educate themselves. Again, we want to make it clear that we are not discouraging those to donate yet we are encouraging those to do their research before they do.

Madeline - 

Donating it a great and important thing. You get to help people in need around the world. But do you know where your money is actually going? In the studio, Transferring Narratives, we Skyped with many different people who are experiencing the refugee crisis first hand. We talked with people who ran refugee camps, helped refugees seek asylum, and refugees themselves. My partner Annabelle and I wanted to focus on the aspect of donating blindly. After doing some research and talking with the head of a foundation, we learned that there is a lot of waste when it comes to donations. Big corporations like the UNHCR wastes a lot of money when it comes to their volunteers and overhead costs. There are many little organizations that do the same great work as big corporations like the UNHCR but you are guaranteed that most of your money is going to the refugees, not into wasteful things or worse, some ones pocket. We learned that 54% of the money that you donate to big corporations goes to overhead costs and wasteful spending, whereas only 9% of the money you donate to smaller organizations goes to overhead costs. To visually represent this research, Annabelle and I created two rectangle shaped peg boards made out of acrylic and wood. The two rectangles are different sizes; the small representing little organizations and the big representing big foundations. The only thing connecting these two boxes is a large bin at the bottom which will represent the money going to charity. In the bigger rectangle, we put boxes and other obstacles to make it that only half of your money makes it into the charity bin. In the smaller rectangle there is only one obstacle stopping the money from getting into the bin. This shows that you never really know where you money is going to the corporation or to aid. Annabelle and I are not trying to discourage people from donating, we want people to do research and really know where their money goes when they donate. 

Inspired by the 2006 protests in Chile, The Penguin March is an unpredictable board game that sets two players against each other as protesters and police, clashing over the Chilean education system. Since the 2006 protests, sometimes referred to as the March of the Penguins due to the color of the students’ uniforms, there have been many more education protests in Chile, mostly between 2011 and 2013, pushing for eliminating the costs of public schoolings, and for greater state involvement in the education system.  Outnumbered them three to one, police must use the resources at their disposal--including tear gas and water cannons--in order to defend themselves and suppress the protests. The game shows the volatility of the protest, with the police directing violence the protesters without warning.

While outnumbered, the police have more power in that they can make arrests, throw tear gas, and set up barricades to slow the progress of protesters. The protesters must make their way through the police in order for them to get three of the five protest leaders to the other side of the board. The police and protesters are 3D printed, which allowed for individuating detail to make it seem as though the opponents are playing with real people, not just pieces that represent people. The game board is made of laser cut wood. The bases of the pieces were designed to wrap around the edge of the squares they stand on for more stability. The hope is that after playing the game, people will have a better understanding of the protests in Chile, and of the helplessness felt by the students stuck in the public education system.

Annabelle - 

Donation is a wonderful thing. A perfect world, every cent of the dollar and you donate will go straight to the cause you help to support but, in the real world up to 54% of the dollar is taken to go to the corporation to support funding. They can also go to  advertisements and funding of the employees so they can do the best work possible. When I heard this information, I was shocked the fact that 50% of my dollar and all of that I chose to Donate wasn't necessarily going to go to the people I want to help with was hard to hear. But, don't let that discourage you from donating.  The point of a project to help educate others do their research before making their donations. There are many many small corporations or organizations that have less of an overhead such as 9% or even less. These are the organizations that as the people we should support. I understand that the UNHCR is more accessible, but I want to educate people to look harder. 

Our goal of this project was to create a visual representation that is interactive prove a point. The point is when you donate please research the foundations and organizations that you are donating two, have some of them are less helpful than others. Madeline and I  created A game type piece of art. There are two rectangles one of which represents the bigger organization. The rectangle is bigger but has bigger traps in it so when you put your money in the top and the sides down between the different pegs, your money may get stuck and be gone forever. The money that reaches the bottom box goes to donation of the money get stuff will go to the corporation. On the other side there is a smaller box yes this box maybe smaller but there is only one trap that the coin have to avoid the trap taking about 9% to coins. The smaller box is a more reliable route. Please designs will be installed onto the streets of Cambridge for others to use educate themselves. Again, we want to make it clear that we are not discouraging those to donate yet we are encouraging those to do their research before they do.

Madeline - 

Donating it a great and important thing. You get to help people in need around the world. But do you know where your money is actually going? In the studio, Transferring Narratives, we Skyped with many different people who are experiencing the refugee crisis first hand. We talked with people who ran refugee camps, helped refugees seek asylum, and refugees themselves. My partner Annabelle and I wanted to focus on the aspect of donating blindly. After doing some research and talking with the head of a foundation, we learned that there is a lot of waste when it comes to donations. Big corporations like the UNHCR wastes a lot of money when it comes to their volunteers and overhead costs. There are many little organizations that do the same great work as big corporations like the UNHCR but you are guaranteed that most of your money is going to the refugees, not into wasteful things or worse, some ones pocket. We learned that 54% of the money that you donate to big corporations goes to overhead costs and wasteful spending, whereas only 9% of the money you donate to smaller organizations goes to overhead costs. To visually represent this research, Annabelle and I created two rectangle shaped peg boards made out of acrylic and wood. The two rectangles are different sizes; the small representing little organizations and the big representing big foundations. The only thing connecting these two boxes is a large bin at the bottom which will represent the money going to charity. In the bigger rectangle, we put boxes and other obstacles to make it that only half of your money makes it into the charity bin. In the smaller rectangle there is only one obstacle stopping the money from getting into the bin. This shows that you never really know where you money is going to the corporation or to aid. Annabelle and I are not trying to discourage people from donating, we want people to do research and really know where their money goes when they donate. 

A fantasy shield that expands to protect people from harm, whether real or imaginary. Designed for Sandra, This shows her gift to help and protect people.

 Delta is a fantasy shield that expands to protect people.The shield was designed as a superhero prop for Sandra, a woman who runs a soup kitchen to care for and protect people. Sandra runs a soup kitchen in East Boston. She does this to care for and protect people who have been abandoned or who are homeless. Inspired by a scissor lift, the shield can hang compactly on a hook attached to a belt, and expands when the user pulls on it. It does this by having pivot points to move freely. Sandra said about how she gets stronger over time and took that idea to make a shape out of triangles that form a shield. 

Melina Bertsekas:
An interactive, colorful display of flowers that allows the passerby to envision and create their own unique bouquets. A table with a bouquet arrangement able to be altered by the passerby through moving pull tabs holding vases.

As gentrification has slowly made it's way through Central Square, one flower shop has stayed resilient. For 89 years, Central Square Florist has been a respected family-run business that has an incredible catalogue of flowers and services, that today simply needs publicity that catches the attention of the newest generations. Build-A-Bouquet does exactly this! With this beautiful stand, passerby is able to select the flowers they desire most and design their own personal, unique bouquet! How, one might ask? Build-A-Bouquet is a three-story table that displays vibrant and colorful flora, and the top ring showcases movable arrows to the center containing different flowers. The customer simply pushes in the tabs of the flowers they love, and the flowers move to the center! Build-A-Bouquet draws in a more excitable audience to a well-loved Central Square cultural landmark, helping a long-running community business continue to flourish through the hardships of gentrification. Build-A-Bouquet and watch Central Square blossom! :)

Ethan Donaldson:

An interactive, colorful display of flowers that allows the passerby to envision and create their own unique bouquets. A table with a bouquet arrangement able to be altered by the passerby through moving pull tabs holding vases.

A simple pull-tab device that allows people to experiment with different flower orientations and arrangements. A flower display table designed to allow passersby to experiment with different bouquet arrangements by pushing and pulling tabs. The short round table is supported by wooden dowels, which holds up a pull-tab board holding small vases. The table has a tube encircled around the legs to give more balanced support. Below the pull-tab board is a small support-tray for vases (filled with flowers) to slide over. The bouquet display exists because it is a way to attract people to a small business in an era of gentrification, rather than going to a main-stream flower provider, possibly the Whole Foods down the street, or an online flower provider. The project engages the loss of small businesses, and wants to stop gentrification that will cause such. The project helps not only the store owner and employees of the shop, but it also helps the residents of Central by helping it keep its feel of a traditional city neighborhood run by the people that live there, instead of out-of-town owners. The project changes the way people display their products, as well as the way people interact with them. The unique style could inspire another user-friendly interactive Ad. One question that arose was "Is there anything that exists like this already/what is it doing for the atmosphere" The flower shop will be the main consumer of the product, but theoretically anybody, displaying small objects, could use this for advertisement. The mechanism is all in pushing and pulling out tabs filled through the tube-slot, with the item on display. The device is set up for the best user experience because it forces the user to (literally) see the product in different light. The atmospheric perspective you get from it is unique in a user-experience lens. With flowers on display, the bouquet display forces the user to consider different formations and think about the most appealing arrangement. Smell, color, texture, and size can all be factors in making the most optimal bouquet, but also the angle its looked at can be important too, hence the need for it to be walked around and viewed in the round.

Annabelle - 

Donation is a wonderful thing. A perfect world, every cent of the dollar and you donate will go straight to the cause you help to support but, in the real world up to 54% of the dollar is taken to go to the corporation to support funding. They can also go to  advertisements and funding of the employees so they can do the best work possible. When I heard this information, I was shocked the fact that 50% of my dollar and all of that I chose to Donate wasn't necessarily going to go to the people I want to help with was hard to hear. But, don't let that discourage you from donating.  The point of a project to help educate others do their research before making their donations. There are many many small corporations or organizations that have less of an overhead such as 9% or even less. These are the organizations that as the people we should support. I understand that the UNHCR is more accessible, but I want to educate people to look harder. 

Our goal of this project was to create a visual representation that is interactive prove a point. The point is when you donate please research the foundations and organizations that you are donating two, have some of them are less helpful than others. Madeline and I  created A game type piece of art. There are two rectangles one of which represents the bigger organization. The rectangle is bigger but has bigger traps in it so when you put your money in the top and the sides down between the different pegs, your money may get stuck and be gone forever. The money that reaches the bottom box goes to donation of the money get stuff will go to the corporation. On the other side there is a smaller box yes this box maybe smaller but there is only one trap that the coin have to avoid the trap taking about 9% to coins. The smaller box is a more reliable route. Please designs will be installed onto the streets of Cambridge for others to use educate themselves. Again, we want to make it clear that we are not discouraging those to donate yet we are encouraging those to do their research before they do.

Madeline - 

Donating it a great and important thing. You get to help people in need around the world. But do you know where your money is actually going? In the studio, Transferring Narratives, we Skyped with many different people who are experiencing the refugee crisis first hand. We talked with people who ran refugee camps, helped refugees seek asylum, and refugees themselves. My partner Annabelle and I wanted to focus on the aspect of donating blindly. After doing some research and talking with the head of a foundation, we learned that there is a lot of waste when it comes to donations. Big corporations like the UNHCR wastes a lot of money when it comes to their volunteers and overhead costs. There are many little organizations that do the same great work as big corporations like the UNHCR but you are guaranteed that most of your money is going to the refugees, not into wasteful things or worse, some ones pocket. We learned that 54% of the money that you donate to big corporations goes to overhead costs and wasteful spending, whereas only 9% of the money you donate to smaller organizations goes to overhead costs. To visually represent this research, Annabelle and I created two rectangle shaped peg boards made out of acrylic and wood. The two rectangles are different sizes; the small representing little organizations and the big representing big foundations. The only thing connecting these two boxes is a large bin at the bottom which will represent the money going to charity. In the bigger rectangle, we put boxes and other obstacles to make it that only half of your money makes it into the charity bin. In the smaller rectangle there is only one obstacle stopping the money from getting into the bin. This shows that you never really know where you money is going to the corporation or to aid. Annabelle and I are not trying to discourage people from donating, we want people to do research and really know where their money goes when they donate. 

Notes:

• We decided to make an interactive game because we want people to engage in the thought process and not just put money in.
• By putting the board game on the map, we abstracted our project because it shows how there are many more twists and turns along the journey, not just crossing borders from google maps.