The School of Visual Arts’ Silas Theater hosted the MFA Designer as Author Thesis Forum on Wednesday, with 18 students presenting the results of their 2-year explorations into designing marketable products.

According to the program’s mission statement, “entrepreneurship has become more significant throughout the contemporary design scene. MFA Design students work individually and collaboratively during two intensive years to develop objects of value through electronic and handcrafted means.”

This was a full-scale launch—the culmination of a program chaired by Steven Heller and Lita Talarico—that prepares its students for top jobs. They learn contract law, intellectual property management, business planning, pitch, and presentation. Their thesis requires them to come up with an original concept that addresses a real need, and then to produce and market it. 

Among the unique products were a new app for teaching idiomatic English to a children's book and film on the virtues of "groovy" and healthy foods; from a documentary film about women surfing at Rockaway Beach to a new Polish food emporium in Brooklyn; from a social media site for struggling comedians to a safe haven for young girls in Lebanon. 

One of the standouts was Heyday | Take A Moment, a new app created by Maya Lee. In her presentation she detailed her history of “obsessively documenting her life since childhood" (in case she forgot anything, she said). Her habit evolved from stacks of diaries to social media sites, which eventually became either too personal or too impersonal. Lee then invented Heyday, which basically creates trails through Manhattan on which destinations, such as favorite food trucks, cafes, shoe stores, galleries and the like can be shared with friends. 

A more brick-and-mortar approach was taken by Tim Hucklesby, who created Host, an interior design website that helps promote individuality through one-of-a-kind commercial spaces and their creators. Leen Sadder took on a public service issue aimed at girls in her native Lebanon. With Beinetna (which in Arabic means “just between us”), she created a forum where young women in a repressive society can discuss the subjects of relationships and sexual health. The beta version has already gone online.

Next on the agenda: The 2012 MFA Designer as Author Thesis Launch Party is Wednesday, May 2, 6-8 pm. Each student presents their thesis in digital form and they are all then joined together in an iPad app. Visitors will have the opportunity to browse through all 18 projects, watch their videos and dive deeper into those projects which resonate with them. The Designer As iPad app is designed by MFA Design students Adam Katz and Elliott Walker and developed by Senior Systems Administrator Ron Callahan. SVA plans to distribute the Designer As app within a few weeks. The Launch is curated by Ada Whitney. The exhibition will run from April 27 to May 12 at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26^th Street, 15^th Floor, NY, NY. Check the next DART Board for details. Image above courtesy SVA MFA Design Department.

04202012