Markets, Innovation & Design - Spring 2020

The power of habit

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Since I heard about Bucknell, the MIDE major has always stood out to me because it seemed flexible, in the best way. I often feel like some majors can be so constructed and consist of lectures, essays, and multiple choice tests. In high school, I always felt like the pressure of tests got the best of me and my desire to actually learn. I would create flash cards upon flash cards to memorize everything and the minute I walked out of the class, boom nothing… I couldn’t remember a thing. I have always found my passions in art, movies, advertisements, people honestly. So, obviously I was very excited to get into this Imagination workshop.

Right off the bat we created an apple picker, a robotic one. Somehow my mind jumped to sculpting a giraffe that eats the apples and then the apples go into his belly where the human can retrieve them. I mean, who knew I could really be a kid again, look through the world with a child’s eye lens. Notice opportunity, build something out of nothing, constantly ask questions and learn. The greatest lesson I walked away from in this class is the ability to look for the little girl in me. Not to focus so much on what everyone else is doing, to simply create from what I knew, what I wanted. That is how design works best, doing the unthinkable. I bet no one else has thought of a robotic giraffe, nor will they ever have to… but no one ever planned for COVID-19, or thought they had to, therefore the ability to constantly be able to problem solve for the most unpredictable scenarios.

I have always had a habit of waiting for the last moment to do something. This was the first class that I caught myself naturally working on the work gradually. Through our mind maps, I recognized that you simply need time to understand and connect the dots clearly to understand how to express the articles. Even with meeting our company that we planned to do a website for, we met them took notes, got to know their stories and tried to exactly meet their needs. After the professors immediately called us out for rushing the process, we all sat together for a couple hours thinking through every element of what was being presented before us. We changed the entire presentation to how it should have originally been. In the real world, the greatest success takes time, thought, and collaboration. I

The next chapter of our lives after graduation will not look anything like Bucknell and that is okay, and scary. We live in a world with constant great unknowns, the ambiguity of what’s to come next is on all our minds. Sitting at home creating my humor board was something even my parents could not believe I did, but both of the professors, or you professors, encouraged me to think of something positive I can bring out of this. Professor Smith said it best, practicing playfulness. I thank you guys for your time and efforts. The ability to use imagination, creativity, I felt like we all simply encouraged and supported what we thought was best, as if there was never one correct answers. The room constantly was full of different ideas, and the encouragement from the Professors to push us to share and discuss brought a sense of comfort that diminished any sort of “stressful” college atmosphere.

Test and Iterate

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I decided to wait to see the impact of my design and take note in changes as days went on, if it began to lose its purpose due to the overflowing worries that are beginning to burden our brains more than the glories or happy thoughts we all tried to rehash by creating our “Humor Boards”. To be honest, my family has been struggling a lot with this time as our loved ones have been experiencing real pain and stress from the repercussions of COVID-19. Our small town has lost individuals to COVID-19 that were stand out personalities that could change the atmosphere in any room, but simply could not beat the disease. Leaving behind families, friends, and children that could not mourn properly. On top of this, the Coyle’s are all extroverts who, like many, live to talk to strangers, tell stories, hug, plan ahead, and share life. It was the other day when my sister, a senior in high school right now, got notified that not only was her prom, graduation and final season of track was cancelled, but her future coach at William and Mary University sent a bold email out that explained that he believed a fall semester may not take place. Granted, this may not be true, but it then hit me that this simply is a scary time to be facing “The Great Unknown”.

“The Great Unknown” is an idea that has always stuck with me. When questioning what is “the Great Unknown”, ideas pop up like who will I marry, what job will I get, will I have kids, will they be awesome? Never could I imagine to ask, what will I do in a shelter in place for a global pandemic? Boom, a grand example of what the Great Unknown truly brings to the table, unpredictability. The unknown is the territory of our own specific lives in which we least want to explore, whether that be through conscious choice or subconscious force. We want to avoid it because it scares the crap out of us and leave us questioning everything we think we know about the world and our own selves- it is a red-light blinking over our most underdeveloped qualities. It also can be our greatest teacher.

I started to realize that each of my family members putting together a board that held 20 funny stories, qualities, quotes of one another does not seem like a product or design that has lasting impact on a day. This project design made me think of the quote, “Souls tend to go back to who feels most like home”. My family sees me in my most raw form. My disgusting “rolled out of bed” morning looks to my hormonal stages of being a teenager, and everything in between too now. They are my backbone in my great unknowns and this chapter in our lives, although very scary, has been a design project in and of itself on how human beings face uncertainty. My families ability to just take time to write about each-other was in and of itself the most flawed flawless design. Us all together sitting in a kitchen in different spots, laughing to ourselves, peeking over each others shoulders, that alone I could write an essay on. That is something we have never done before. We absolutely ripped on one another, wrote stories we swore we never would “tell mom and dad” and some lectures have brewed since the creation of our “humor boards”. But, the design does not end at the board. It made me recognize the design of my family. My families ability to laugh and smile, step outside when the sun cracks through the clouds, and to simply understand our blessings in each day has become the ultimate catalyst in our survival of Quarantine. Our ability to stuff our faces with as much food as possible, to yell embarrassing things in the other room while we know our Dad is on a Work zoom, or our little sister is talking to her boyfriend on zoom. To simply find good music to blast throughout the house or open every window to make inside as enjoyable as outside. To fully understand that when it comes to extreme measures, family is always constant. Each of us together through creativity and humor have accomplished the simple things.

My design taught me that it isn’t about writing a book, getting the best revenge body post quarantine, or redoing every room in the house to get inspired. It’s always the people that surround you at the end of the day, no matter what that taught you where inspiration begins, with love. It is about texting those I love and sending them something to make them laugh or call and tell a funny story to ease this pain. This time is very painful too many for a multitude of reasons. Although it is easy to say we all are in the same boat, we are not. Some families are at shipwreck, others have hit rock bottom, some may not even have a boat to rest on. The entire world is scared. Family is core and I am so blessed to have my days decorated with different personalities that allow myself to look forward to knowing I can dive into any great unknown with them as my backbone and continue to use laughter as my daily dose of medicine through this time.

Prototype

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Schedule
I decided with my concepts, in order to focus on running and keeping myself healthy, I had to focus on a schedule that designated a time in the day that I hit a trail. In the past couple of weeks I have been holding off from running because I procrastinate with the amount of time I have on my plate.
I put the schedule on my window in my room, and the sticky will be removed once the task is accomplished. I was thinking of creating a schedule on my phone, but I realized the act of physically removing an action off the window would force me to do it. I did not plan anything after 5 pm or dinner time because I did not want my whole day to be constructed and constrained to a plan. I have never been a scheduled person, so I am aware that this will be a challenge to stick toward. I also realized planning what I would eat would force me not to pick or be lazy with my meals.
I told my family about the 3 concepts I came up with class, and they argued that laughter was not a task. In a time with so much uncertainty and nervousness, I have realized that it is hard to laugh and find humor in my families day to day activities. We all decided to sit down, get our favorite pictures, and each make a board we could hang in our rooms. I made mine with an old frame and stapled chicken wire to hold the pictures. My four other family members and I decided to each write 5 funny or sweet things about each other and place it behind a number. So, each day, you flip the number and find a funny/sweet quote.
My brother.

I made two prototypes, however but the second one was too technically prove my family that you could make a prototype of laughter with words. This break has definitely pushed me to create and collaborate with the team I am working with. At the end of the day, I have come to realize that I will never get this time to spend SOO much time in my house. Learning how to bring innovation, design, and creativity from Lewisburg to 66 Whisconier Rd!

3 Concepts

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Throughout this time of isolation, I have decided to focus on my emotions more so than my actions. I feel that the entire world is feeling many mixed emotions of the uncertainty the world is facing at the moment. I believe that the world has been helping each-other feel united and understand that for once in a really long time, the world is collectively at a pause. Recently I have been reflecting on what actions bring out my greatest emotions. Through looking at these concepts that I could draw, I tried hard to reflect and challenge myself to do something other than the obvious. However, the reality is that my interactions are very limited to my constructed environment.

My first picture is a a visualization of a girl writing. I have always had a niche for writing short stories, poems, reflections, and journaling. As a writer, it is a relief to write, even if it never reaches an audience. I came to realization that I will never have this much down time again in my life, especially since I love to be constantly busy. I have decided a couple days ago to write a memoir on my life. A collection of short stories that I think are funny, sad, unique, and worth hearing. I have began to outline the layout of the novel and how I would put all the pieces together to bring a story together at the end that the reader didn’t realize throughout the book.

My second concept is running, the greatest blessing during such a time of isolation. The ability to run throughout different points of my town and neighboring towns has instilled so much inspiration within me. I have seen more people than ever before in there front yards, biking, playing basketball, reading on the front porch. Luckily, we have been lucky to have such beautiful weather. It allows me to physically explore and take note of my surroundings. This reminded me of the exercise when we all walked around campus alone, noticing things that we had never noticed.

My third drawing is plain and simple–laughter. Even seeing a drawing of laughing makes me smile. Laughter is a cure to this craziness that we are living in today. I can sense the fear in my peers and my family as we continue to hear negative news on channels. It is in times of fear and sadness that humanity finds ways to laugh to ease anxiety, stress. My family has been watching videos, movies, telling stories, and playing games that have brought out the best of our emotions.

Brainstorm

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Sing “What a Wonderful World”
Learn a song on the piano
Go for a run
Go for a walk with a friend
When you drive wave towards people
Pay it forward for someone in the drivethru line
Bake a new recipe
Cook dinner for mom, something no one has had before
Have happy hour with appetizers
Play cards
Open all the windows when it is pretty out.
Call grandparents
Send cards to people you love
Read the News
Pray for those suffering the most
Donate clothes
Donate old toys
Have movie marathons
Buy flowers and start planting gardens to prepare for Spring
Get dressed every morning to feel motivated
Youtube a Zumba class and do it with the family
Have a bonfire outside
Reach out to professors
Clean out the garage… if you are really desperate
Write in a journal
Go hiking
Bike in the neighborhood
Order take out to help mom and pop shops
Smile whenever you can
Send little inspirational quotes to friends
Keep laughing at memes and videos people continue to create
Prepare for internship in summer
Start a Netflix series with family
Think of inventions, nows the time to start
Continue learning how to code
Take dog for a walk to make up for all the times you were to busy too
Bring a book to a beach in warm weather
Zoom classes outside
Cook and grocery shop for neighbors who are older and very stressed about the illness.
Put down the phone
Learn
Go for long drives
Train for half marathon
Hug family
Have Taco Tuesday
Eat cookies and milk
Ask questions
Write poems
Make your bed
Read a book and then watch a movie and compare

Concept Board

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I am a very extroverted person who gets energy through being around other humans, so it has been very important to me to learn how to shift myself from learning how to stay motivated and happy in isolation. Luckily, I have my entire family home, including my older brother who has been out of the house for two years, so it has blessed my family with a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend the most time we have had together in years. In order to keep myself busy, I have gone by a schedule every day that keeps me on tasks and convinces myself that I am “busy”.

Five main things that I try to do every day is eat healthy, laugh, connect with my friends, read, and walk. I believe that laughing and finding humor in times that I can see is stressful on everyone is necessary in order to stay positive. I have continued to try to find humor in all parts of the day, and if I needed inspiration, looking online at jokes other people have come up with. I have been getting creative in the kitchen and my siblings and I have been cooking dinners, something my mother thought she would never witness. Some meals have been horrible and have forced us to revert to take out, but that helps the economy! I try to text or call my friends whenever I feel down or am really bored, and we try to get creative with what we could possibly talk about since no ones life is interesting right now.

Walking every day outside is the healthiest thing for me. I never realized how peaceful it is to simply just walk in a pretty environment, so I have been exploring different paths to take outside in my town. Walking is also the only way my parents will allow me to see people outside of the house, as long as we distance ourselves.

One thing I am pushing myself to do is play piano again. I used to be able to read any notes and play any song, but stopped playing in high school and it is a skill I wish I never gave up.

Coronacation

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COV-19 was introduced in Walhun, China in December. The case was originally reported to be associated with exposure, but the greater majority like to continue to believe it was due to an individual that ate a bat. The reason that the virus takes such a toll on the human respiratory system is because it is a disease originated within animals. Only weeks later was it reported that the world was up to a total of 9976 cases in at least 21 countries, including the United States, on January 30, 2020. As investigation and research has taken place in order to pinpoint the epidemiologic and clinical features of the illness, as well as the spectrum of what’s to come in the future. In the mean time, it seems that for the first time in “Modern History”, the entire world is at a pause.

When dissecting the constraints of Corona, I decided to identify the End User (Society), Production (Hospitals), and the Designer (Government). As 80 million Americans remain self isolated, schools remain closed, and almost all corporations have turned to Wifi as their savior, the world sits in front of the news waiting to see a glimmer of hope that change is taking place. The main conflict in the disease is the fact that it takes two weeks for symptoms to show. All of us two weeks ago could not have prepared for the extreme measures the CDC has placed on society, and now… two weeks later… hospitals are close to full capacity. We live in a world where it is necessary to always expect the unexpected and it seems that with test, supply, and space shortages, we cannot catch up in time. Trump calls the “China Virus”, which he claims is both accurate and stigmatizing, as a racial tool against a nation that has faced devastation and economic problems that could face the United States.

I think by now we are all familiar with the idea of boredom. Naturally, with self isolation and the constraint of freedom to move and lack of space, there is a sense that the deep motivating power of boredom could change the way our society walks out of this quarantine. Looking at the news it is visible that humans are continuing to find ways to make the best of the situation at hand. Social Media has allowed Universities to revert to Zoom and Google Hangout to still learn as a community and expand upon ideas on the virus’ impact on every aspect of the world. Drive by birthday parties, singing from roofs, and Boston performing “Sweet Caroline” are all instances of creative communication that we have never seen before. On instagram, Bucknell students have continued to challenge eachother to do ten pushups and nominate another, draw your best orange, eat a banana and nominate or “tag” someone else to, although we are constrained we have continued to innovate new ways to defeat boredom.

Inspiration

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This week I decided to get lunch with a friend from freshman year that I have not seen for a while. Sitting down and talking to someone that you haven’t seen in a while can often get you to think and reflect on past times. It is healthy to keep relationships and check in with people who have touched you throughout different wavelengths of your life. We decided to walk downtown and try the new restaurant, Nido. This experience reminded me how amazing it is to be able to catch up with people no matter how much time has gone by.

Deep clean

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I decided to deep clean my entire room yesterday after looking for all of the junk in it that I could create an invention out of. This may seem like a weird task that can give you inspiration, but it makes yourself feel cleaner and more organized when your belongings are. I blasted music and wiped everything down making sure everything was wiped and vacuumed up. This just gave me time to think and be alone, as well as think of creative ways to reorganize everything in a way to make sure that I was using up all my space perfectly.

Inspiration pt 2

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I love attending Bucknell, however at times I feel that I get bored staying in Lewisburg and going through a constant routine, never escaping the “bubble”. I last minute decided that in order to feel better and less stress constantly running around on campus that I would take a break from Bucknell and go home for the weekend. The comfort of being with family and surprising them for the weekend helped me reset and relax. The ability to have New York City, ski mountains, and hiking trails so close to my home allowed me to have an active weekend that I usually do not experience on campus. I felt inspired to fill my few days up turning my phone off and hitting the slopes, enjoying a little vacation. Coming back to campus I felt excited to continue to soak in everything Lewisburg has and continue to enjoy everything that Bucknell offers.

It is hard for Bucknell kids to escape the bubble and go out of their way to consume everything that the area has to offer. Just from experiencing this weekend I realized that I need to step back on campus and change the way I face every day, forcing myself to be exposed to new things.

Marathon

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I always have been a night owl. The word “bedtime” often made me throw a tantrum, begging my mom for any last seconds I could be awake entertaining. Fast forward to today, my social skills have continued to develop and have allowed me to embrace everything that comes with college. But, I knew that I needed to find a passion that exhausted me by the end of the day. High School sports pushed me to work, sweat, and collaborate with individuals on and off a field. I feared going into college without the backbone of athletics constantly in my day to day schedule. I began to feel anxious in my freshman year and put my sneakers on one day and just simply ran a route. These runs would soon become the backbone to my routine at Bucknell. It has allowed me to build up my miles, two to four to eight… traveling through back roads and abandoned farms, experiencing Lewisburg. Learning how to work hard at something on your own has played an essential role in my ability in believing in myself, knowing that I can run on any path and sprint any hill. The challenge in our day is that kids always look past their shoulders, sometimes too much. The ability to experience being on a sports team is a blessing, but running has inspired me to learn how to be independent. It gives me a structured schedule that allows me to be a night owl, but also helps me look forward to resting. After running 13.1 miles in a race, and looking forward to my full marathon I will be running in 2021, I remain inspired knowing that I can control any route my life takes.

Coloring Outside of the Lines

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Throughout my education, I have always stuck to the rules and guidelines. Creativity is always encouraged in a classroom, however it is not always utilized in many classes I have taken at Bucknell. I want to allow myself to take what I have learned and gain the courage to take advantage of the flexibility of the class to think outside of the box. At the end of the semester I want to feel like I gained the ability to look past taking the easy path and push myself to my fullest capabilities.

MIDE 300 HUMANS

Abby Harris (21), Abby Hislop (21), Alana Bortman (21), Alexander Smith (20), Allie Kotowitz (21), Amisha Chhetri (22), Caitlin Tucker (21), Carly Binday (22), Claudia Glasgow (21), Collin Smith (28), Elana Smith (21), Emily Chopoorian (22), Emily Goldman (23), Erin Mooney (21), Faith Reilly (22), Hannah Moriarty (22), Jabril Mohamed (19), Jane Meng (22), Liam Moriarty (22), Lindsey Knutzen (20), Liza Heyl (21), Lucia Singer (20), Madz Cabico (4), Matt Cervon (19), Meg Coyle (18), Natalie Notz (21), Natalie Ring (23), Nikki Bott (23), Olivia DeNicola (21), Prof. Allen (1), Renne Venico (19), Rowan Beiter (23), Tarrin Earle (20), Zack Yoelson-Angeline (14)