On Saturday, May 10th, I went to the NYCxDESIGN opening party at Industry City with a few of my friends after the Holi NYC Festival of Colors.

They had a photo booth set up at the night of the event, hosted by PHHHOTO, which is an app that makes GIF’s by recording a video of the people’s movements. Below is a sample:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySmTsolYnY

They also showcased work by Pratt students, which are all very interactive with the viewer. I am hunting for some inspirations for my Senior Project class in the Fall semester.

Upon entering the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum with my internship class, they asked to photograph us for their website. So here’s the “behind the scenes” with The Pen and table:

The Pen interacts with the screen above. You may pick something that interests you that’s floating along a linear path on the screen and drag it into your working space. If you like it, you may save it. This goes the same way with the caption sections of the artwork show in the museum. If you like a piece and wish to remember it, you can use the back of your pen save an inspiring piece that you are passionate about.

Not only that, but you can also draw 2D lines and shapes, and they will go 3D with it, allowing you to change the rotation and perspective.

Next was the Immersion Room, where you can use the pen once again to pick out your favorite patterns or even make your own to project it onto the wall of the whole room. This was my favorite part of the museum and I am sure most people might agree. The room is interactive with the viewer that they actually seem to have also became part of the exhibition. What a great way to get the audience interested!

Last but not least, I agree with this quote!

The Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center held an event at Borough Hall called Spaces & Places: Art Along the Brooklyn Waterfront. The above design was created by Matthew Joseph, my colleague at Faculty Commons.

Out of all the speakers, Lisa Kim’s positive attitude, energy, and passion inspired me the most. She has a great point when she mentioned that individuals and businesses should be about partnership, not just one-way hand-outs. Some non-profit organizations would come and ask for resources and other types of aid, but has nothing to offer back.

The above photo shows Barry Rosenthal speaking about his “Found in Nature” project, where he collects “garbage,” paint them all in one color, and photograph them in a collection.

Another amazing discovery is Underwater New York, an online blog about stories, art and music inspired by the waters and objects found along shores of NY. I was able to catch Nicole Haroutunian, an editor of the blog, and she was kind enough to give me some posters of artwork on water! 🙂

As a graduate of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle Internship Program,  I volunteered for the Tech Triangle U event and attended “Tech-U-Cation: The Integration of Tech and Education in the Classroom and Beyond” on Thursday, March 5th. Speakers included Mark Parsons, Pratt Institute Director in Production Technologies, Marco Perry, PENSA Founder, Alex Rappaport, Flocabulary Co-Founder and CEO, Emily Wheeler, NYC Acre and Urban Future Lab Director, and Duks Koschitz, Pratt Institute Associate Professor in Design and Technology.

They covered many topics on design, technology, and entrepreneurship and how they come into play for education. Flocabulary is a great example. More than 20,000 schools use this online library of educational hip-hop songs and videos to educate their students. Incorporating something fun and exciting into education can really help students get engaged in learning.

Diversity was one of the factors they spoke of and one speaker introduced First Tech Challenge, which is mentor-based programs that aim to inspire young people to become leaders in science and technology. It is also empowering a diverse group of people to go into entrepreneurship.