Project by: Nikunj Jain
What if a car could grow with you? What if upgrades and maintenance could be ordered via a phone application? Nikunj Jain, a recent graduate of the MFA Transportation Design program, explored how we could make an impact in car waste by reducing the number of times we buy new cars.
Many of us remember our first car and how much we loved it. What if you could keep that car for the rest of your life? You could have a 2-seater sports car at age 16 and add a back seat and more trunk space for a family of 4 at age 35. Because we become emotionally invested in our vehicles, we should want to keep them with us as we age. Nik designed a car with a rich sensory experience because the more your vehicle can be integrated into your life, the more indispensable it becomes. Increasing the vehicle’s lifespan would greatly reduce pollution and waste during the production phase.
Recently, representatives from CCS’s MFA program, including current MFA student, Brook Bahnam, traveled to Pune, India to run a design workshop. The weeklong workshop was held at the DYP-DC Center for Automotive Research and Studies and revolved around conceptualizing and sketching automobiles.
Pune is home to companies such as General Motors, Volkswagen, Skoda, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mercedes Benz, Fiat and Force Motors. Several colleges of art and design are located in Pune, India, including the new automotive design program at DYP-DC.
This weeks blogger is student Morgan Phillips, discussing her transition into CCS’ MFA program and her current student project.
“I was always interested in design but didn’t know how to get into it. I went to a small high school in Ohio and didn’t know being a designer was a career option. I found the MFA Design program when I was looking for a way to get into design-thinking. I knew the program was what I needed to advance my creativity. The deal was sealed when I read about the partnership with University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
My undergraduate degree is in visual journalism from Kent State University. I studied a bit of writing, editing, photography, design and info-graphics. After college, I took an internship at the Detroit Free Press where I was hired as a full-time news designer. I designed the news and business sections, where topics ranged from the auto show to the UAW strike and to the Kwame Kilpatrick mayoral scandal. Over the summer, I interned with the marketing team at Dodge, part of Chrysler, LLC.
Currently I’m working on my thesis: reducing childhood obesity by targeting snack time in elementary schools. The image below represents my extensive research phase, done in the fall 2010 semester.
After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in service design with an emphasis in design research.”
