Avery Thomas
Undergraduate
My name is Avery Thomas and I am a third-year student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Industrial Design. As a young designer, I have found that many people interpret design to simply be the practice of making things aesthetically pleasing. While I cannot discount the role of beauty and aesthetics in the design process, there is much more to it and I strive to combine form and function to create user-focused designs. I am incredibly grateful that my education as a design student at a research institute has provided me with a technical approach to design, enabling me to balance logic and innovation. I am able to think critically, collaborate with others outside of the design world, and harness my creativity to work through the design process.
Ally
Class: Sophomore Studio | Instructor: Steve Chininis
This project tasked us with designing a product that would enhance the general wellness of a first-year college student. I conducted research on the social habits of first-year students and realized that a lot of incoming college students want to make new friends, but do not know where or how to accomplish this. Colleges often hold events to connect incoming freshmen, including orientations, club fairs, and dorm meetings. However, these events are not a reliable source for creating lasting friendships, like due to a lack of common interests between students.
I designed a device that connects incoming college students according to their values and interests, and facilitates the formation of lasting friendships. This takes the form of the ally ring, along with the corresponding ally app. To use, students will fill out a detailed questionnaire after first downloading the app, answering questions about their unique characteristics and hobbies. Once this is completed, the student will wear their ring in public spaces throughout campus. When there is another ally-user nearby with any type of personal similarity, both rings will light up in a specific color and their similarity will be displayed on the ring’s screen. This will indicate a potential friend nearby, at which point the two students will be able to find each other and start a conversation about their commonality, hopefully blossoming into a friendship.
GROVE
For this project, we were tasked with designing a smart product that used various sensors to collect data and then report information to the user. My group decided to conduct research regarding common gardening struggles and discovered that gardens are notoriously hard to manage and sustain, largely due to environmental factors. Many gardeners have trouble understanding what plants are best suited for their specific garden, and we developed a final product that would address this issue.
GROVE is a garden tool that collects and analyzes data on the environment’s soil moisture levels and UV index, and then indicates to the user what plants would be most successful in their garden. The user simply places GROVE in their garden, waits 24 hours while it collects environmental information, and then reads the results directly on the device. Data is collected through a UV index sensor on the top of the device, as well as a soil moisture sensor that extends from the bottom of the device. Garden recommendations are communicated through a curved OLED display and growing guides for the specific plants can also be explored.
Arbor Lamp
Class: Sophomore Studio | Instructor: Steve Chininis
This project tasked us with designing a floor lamp to serve a specific function in a chosen environment. I designed the Arbor Lamp to connect the indoors to the outdoors within a restaurant in order to create a sense of natural ambience. I accomplished this by balancing raw and manufactured materials throughout my lamp, as well as creating a soft source of dramatic lighting. The Arbor Lamp was constructed using poplar, epoxy resin, twigs, and steel square tubes, and it maintains a hollow form from top to bottom to use minimal materials. The target environment for my lamp is an upscale restaurant with a natural aesthetic. In this space, the Arbor Lamp could seamlessly bridge the interior to the exterior and stand for itself as a statement piece.
Jar Opener
Class: Sophomore Studio | Instructor: Steve Chininis
For this project, we were tasked with redesigning a tool that involved your hands. I designed an electric jar opener that addressed the existing ergonomic problems that are frequently encountered when twisting off a jar lid. I began my research by studying the cooking habits of two demographics: those with arthritis and those without. Twisting off a jar lid was discovered to be a struggle for both groups, so I decided to eliminate the stress on hands entirely and use modern technology to open a jar instead of relying on wrist and finger muscles.
My final product includes three separate pieces to make it easy to install and use regularly. To use, the user will magnetically remove the bottom piece from the middle piece, which will be installed along with the top piece underneath a kitchen cabinet. The bottom piece is then placed over a jar with the lid attached, at which point automatic claw-like handles within the piece will twist in opposite directions and remove the lid from the jar. Once lid is detached, the bottom piece can easily be magnetically reattached to the middle piece for storage and recharging.