On Nov. 11 in the Clyde and Mary Harris Gallery in the Melvin K. West Fine Arts Center, the technology department held a product design show featuring 25 student-designed projects and posters. 

The purpose of the event was to draw attention to the projects of product design majors as well as to the product design major itself. Students selected the projects they wished to submit from their class work this quarter. The selection process was not exclusive or difficult, and projects were selected through one-on-one discussion between the students and instructors. 

Jefre Humbert, instructor in product design, said regarding the event, “The product design show was a mix of projects from a variety of classes. We just wanted students to be able to display their work. We normally do a dedicated furniture show. The pandemic of the last year and a half has prevented us from doing that.”

The projects ranged from full scale desks, chairs and other furniture, to small scale models of houseboats, or hotel pods. Logan Seibold, instructor in product design, said, “A project I considered particularly intriguing was by Matthew Orvek, junior product design major, he created a pocket knife that looks like it was manufactured by a professional knife company. Another great project was the house boat design by Vincent Weibel ‘21 for a space planning class.”

The products are plywood models, created in product design classes, that will go into student portfolios. These portfolios are important because they showcase to future employers the sort of work students have completed and are capable of.  The event was arranged as an opportunity for people to see these student designs and gain an appreciation for a less well-known major offered by WWU. 

To learn more about design majors at WWU, visit wallawalla.edu/design.

Posted Nov. 18, 2021