Browsing by Subject "Design"

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The 5th wall project : projection design applications for transforming education and medical spaces for youth communities
(2015-05) Lord, Patrick William; Ortel, Sven; Alrutz, Megan
This paper and project explore how creative applications of existing design and technology can provide a unique service for children anywhere. This project fuses that technology with a belief that youth communities in education and medical spaces deserve access to artistic experiences. By devising original, immersive story performances with two classes from local Austin schools, The 5th Wall Project has begun to develop a process that facilitates educational engagement, and exposes students to design and art where they live and learn. The intention of this project is to continue beyond the performances and residencies completed and documented in this paper. Future applications, such as the installation of this model into pediatric patient rooms is a primary goal of the project that has yet to be explored, but is an integral motivator in the aforementioned investigation of our process.
Accounting for reservoir uncertainties in the design and optimization of chemical flooding processes
(2012-08) Rodrigues, Neil; Delshad, Mojdeh; Pope, Gary A.
Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery methods have been growing in popularity as a result of the depletion of conventional oil reservoirs and high oil prices. These processes are significantly more complex when compared to waterflooding and require detailed engineering design before field-scale implementation. Coreflood experiments that have been performed on reservoir rock are invaluable for obtaining parameters that can be used for field-scale flooding simulations. However, the design used in these floods may not always scale to the field due to heterogeneities, chemical retention, mixing and dispersion effects. Reservoir simulators can be used to identify an optimum design that accounts for these effects but uncertainties in reservoir properties can still cause poor project results if it not properly accounted for. Different reservoirs will be investigated in this study, including more unconventional applications of chemical flooding such as a 3md high-temperature, carbonate reservoir and a heterogeneous sandstone reservoir with very high initial oil saturation. The goal of the research presented here is to investigate the impact that select reservoir uncertainties can have on the success of the pilot and to propose methods to reduce the sensitivity to these parameters. This research highlights the importance of good mobility control in all the case studies, which is shown to have a significant impact on the economics of the project. It was also demonstrated that a slug design with good mobility control is less sensitive to uncertainties in the relative permeability parameters. The research also demonstrates that for a low-permeability reservoir, surfactant propagation can have a significant impact on the economics of a Surfactant-Polymer Flood. In addition to mobilizing residual oil and increasing oil recovery, the surfactant enhances the relative permeability and this has a significant impact on increasing the injectivity and reducing the project life. Injecting a high concentration of surfactant also makes the design less sensitive to uncertainties in adsorption. Finally, it was demonstrated that for a heterogeneous reservoir with high initial oil saturation, optimizing the salinity gradient will significantly increase the oil recovery and will also make the process less sensitive to uncertainties in the cation exchange capacity.
Agile in creative agencies : towared the identification of factors important for its effectiveness
(2015-05) Leonard, Courtney J.; Lewis, Robert J. (Assistant professor); Pounders, Kathryn
This study is a systematic approach to collecting and analyzing qualitative data regarding the appropriateness of Agile as a project management environment for creative teams whose deliverables include various types of software. The study identifies the significance of Agile as a methodology. Furthermore, it demonstrates factors that are perceived as important for Agile’s success on creative teams, such as client or stakeholder involvement, educational resources, flexible timeline and budget, and the overall technical ability of the creative team. Finally, this study highlights important information regarding instances in which Agile is not perceived as an appropriate methodology for creative project management.
Analysis, implementation, and applicable designs of low impact developments for stormwater management in Austin, Texas
(2012-05) Wade, Shannon Brooke; Paterson, Robert G.; Kahn, Terry D.
This paper serves as a “kicking-the-tires” analysis of low impact developments as a method of stormwater management. Specifically, this paper examines the feasibility, benefit, and current practice of low impact developments in Austin, Texas. Merits, strengths, and weakness are comparatively determined primarily on the basis of the impact and efficiency of design, particularly relating to ability to handle water volume and potential to improve water quality. By examining case studies and “applied” examples the potential of low impact development application is considered for the expected, potential, and/or alleged benefits of low impact implementation.
The application of systems engineering to a Space-based Solar Power Technology Demonstration Mission
(2012-05) Chemouni Bach, Julien; Fowler, Wallace T.; Guerra, Lisa A.
This thesis presents an end-to-end example of systems engineering through the development of a Space-based Solar Power Satellite (SSPS) technology demonstration mission. As part of a higher education effort by NASA to promote systems engineering in the undergraduate classroom, the purpose of this thesis is to provide an educational resource for faculty and students. NASA systems engineering processes are tailored and applied to the development of a conceptual mission in order to demonstrate the role of systems engineering in the definition of an aerospace mission. The motivation for choosing the SSPS concept is two fold. First, as a renewable energy concept, space-based solar power is a relevant topic in today's world. Second, previous SSPS studies have been largely focused on developing full-scale concepts and lack a formalized systems engineering approach. The development of an SSPS technology demonstration mission allows for an emphasis on determining mission, and overall concept, feasibility in terms of technical needs and risks. These are assessed through a formalized systems engineering approach that is defined as an early concept or feasibility study, typical of Pre-Phase A activities. An architecture is developed from a mission scope, involving the following trade studies: power beam type, power beam frequency, transmitter type, solar array, and satellite orbit. Then, a system hierarchy, interfaces, and requirements are constructed, and cost and risk analysis are performed. The results indicate that the SSPS concept is still technologically immature and further concept studies and analyses are required before it can be implemented even at the technology demonstration level. This effort should be largely focused on raising the technological maturity of some key systems, including structure, deployment mechanisms, power management and distribution, and thermal systems. These results, and the process of reaching them, thus demonstrate the importance and value of systems engineering in determining mission feasibility early on in the project lifecycle.
Bar development and tension lap splice of high-strength reinforcing steel
(2022-08-15) Espanol, Cheska; Bayrak, Oguzhan, 1969-
High-strength reinforcing steel with yield strengths up to 100 ksi have been implemented in design code, but it is not common in practical bridge design. High-strength reinforcement bears opportunities for higher load-carrying capacity, reduced congestion, cost savings, and corrosion-resistance in bridge components. However, the serviceability and the validity of current code provisions shall be further investigated for state departments of transportation to apply this material in practice. In particular, bar development and tension lap splice provisions of high-strength reinforcement should be studied, and the serviceability performance in terms of crack control must be evaluated. There is limited data on the serviceability performance of beams with high-strength rebar using larger bar sizes. Therefore, the research team at the University of Texas aims to expand the database of beam-splice tests by conducting four-point bending tests on four specimens containing No. 11 bars for longitudinal reinforcement either in ASTM A615 Grade 60 or Grade 100 steel. Through the results, the effects of steel grade and the presence of a lap splice on strength and serviceability performance can be evaluated. Furthermore, design recommendations and conclusions on the applicability of current design code development length and lap splice provisions using high-strength reinforcing steel are drawn.
Black media producers of Austin, Texas : critical media production and design as active citizenship
(2017-07-21) Vasudevan, Krishnan; Bock, Mary Angela; Watkins, Samuel C; DeCesare, Donna; Jensen, Robert W; Chen, Wenhong
The latest epoch of Black activism in the United States has emerged in response to the brutal treatment of Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement. Digital production software and networks have allowed Black citizen media producers to circumvent traditional authorities of knowledge production such as news media and have also engendered pathways to develop new and counter knowledge about racial and social inequality. This three part immersive study based on nearly 900 hours of field research examines the lives and work of nine Black activist media makers in Austin, Texas and develops thick description through ethnography, critical discourse analysis and methods of visual anthropology. Austin provides a unique context for this study given its historical segregation of Black residents and recent gentrification during its rise as a cultural and economic juggernaut. This study makes theoretical contributions to critical race theory and political voice along with developing nuanced ideas about citizenship, journalism and design
Blackout : bringing lighting design and technology awareness to Black youth and under supported communities
(2021-05-05) Whatley, Amber Sharaine; Bloodgood, William
The need for more Black lighting designers is not foreign information to the Live Design field. Most BIPOC youth and young adults aren’t even aware that the lighting design field is a career option. This must be taught at the secondary education level so that these students have that knowledge of the lighting design field when choosing higher education or joining the workforce. The purpose of Blackout is to bring awareness of lighting design and technology to Black youth and communities with no theater education, who would not otherwise have the knowledge of lighting design or technology. Through my thesis, I have created a video series to teach a general introduction of lighting design and technology. The information was presented in classrooms for students to watch and gain awareness of the lighting design field. The videos were accessible to youth ages 10-17. Through a final anonymous questionnaire, I examined the significance of the workshop videos being taught by a Black lighting designer and centered around Black students and communities with no theater education programs. My goal was to lend awareness of the lighting design field, show the youth in those schools that lighting design and technology are possible career paths, and hopefully diversify the future lighting design and technology fields.
Bloomer : a magazine promoting sustainable fashion
(2017-05) Peeva, Nevena Boteva; Gorman, Carma
"Seasons” in the fashion world have little to do with temperature. Fashion’s increasingly rapid turnover is meant to boost producers’ profits and respond to consumers’ desire for novelty. On the down side, “fast fashion” comes with grave environmental and social costs. Bloomer is a magazine and an online platform that aims to slow down the conversation around fashion, and offer a platform for reflection and appreciation. In a throwaway culture, what does it mean when someone rebels by keeping and cherishing a garment for years? What makes people value some garments more than others? Is it the labor value in its creation, or sentimental value gained through lived experience, or the status value in its brand identity? The aura of a garment is a complex intersection of market forces, cultural ideals, and metaphysical subtleties. Rather than scolding or guilting people into adopting more sustainable wardrobes, Bloomer takes a positive approach to sustainability by featuring glamorous Austinites wearing their own clothes, sharing their stories of sustainable consumption, and promoting local thrift shops and sources of high-quality “slow fashion.” The first issue of Bloomer features a series of photos documenting how a variety of people practice sustainable fashion. Using the visual and written language of advertising and fashion, is it possible to cultivate an appreciation for the garments we already own, and for sustainable wardrobe practices? The goal of Bloomer as a magazine about sustainable fashion is to show pictures and tell stories of people who have unique and meaningful relationships with their clothes, and encourage the rest of us to ask ourselves “What is my relationship with my clothes?”
Bohème bohème : finding a way into new design using disruption of design method
(2014-05) Bennett, Hope MacRoberts; Mickey, Susan E.
This thesis describes an exploration of creative process and a set of methods used to find new ideas for theatrical design. The project began with questions about repetition and disruption. Can altering a typical process of designing a show help when designing the same show repeatedly, as an opera designer needs to be able to do? Can new ideas be generated not from streamlining one process but using a diverse pattern of research methods? How does using one design of the same opera as a lens for another affect the sum of both works and the understanding of the work? Several methods of work process are examined and explained.
Cafeteria Formosa
(2022-05-09) Chen, Hsiao-Wei, M.F.A.; Barreto, Raquel; Dawson, Kathryn M.; Buchanan, Jason B.
Taiwan, Formosa, has struggled with its identity in the past hundreds of years with multiple foreign sovereignties’ rule. This thesis project develops a conceptual framework that explores the writer’s identity as a Taiwanese and expands the research into an immersive performance with creative collaborators and audience members. It is a site-specific performance using reflective practitioner methods that document how both audience members and performers explore the nuances, complexities, and delights in an engaging, all-you-can eat food cart stop called Cafeteria Formosa.
ChalkTalk : a participatory design framework for designing resilient sustainable transportation infrastructures
(2019-06-19) Degeal, Jacob Edward; Park, Jiwon, M.F.A.
American cities looking to reduce car congestion, improve air quality, and increase safety on the road are focused on shifting car commutes to sustainable “human-scaled” transportation modes like biking, and walking. As studies show though, 51% of car commuters cite safety concerns for their reluctance to bike on the road. This feeling of safety is either created or impeded by the quality of cycling infrastructure. Due to declining federal and state funding for municipal transportation improvements, more and more cities are looking towards local tax-based funding options like mobility bonds to build this type of infrastructure. These bond packages require significant public input, communication, and buy-in. However, emerging transportation technologies like ride-hailing and micromobility, in addition to fraught histories of grass-roots advocacy, have challenged the way cities communicate with their neighborhoods and residents about sustainable transportation. Contemporary practices of holding open houses, utilizing online commenting systems, and partnering with local advocacy groups help to disseminate information, but still fall short in encouraging active participation and engagement from the public, resulting in a failure to attract the 51% of commuters mentioned above. It is my hypothesis that public life studies, participatory democracy, and tactical urbanism are by nature methods of observation, ideation, and rapid prototyping and iterating respectively that can be used to adapt design thinking to the transportation sector. By using the ChalkTalk framework, designers, residents, and planning professionals alike can collaborate on an innovative way to capture evolving transportation patterns, and create a rich set of qualitative data that lays the groundwork for a better participatory design practice.
Characterizing argumentation structure within the asynchronous, online communication of novice engineering design students
(2014-12) McKenna, William F., active 21st century; Treisman, Uri
Practicing argumentation in secondary school classrooms benefits students both in terms of learning how to argue and learning the course material at hand. Amidst the onset and growth of engineering design courses in secondary schools, this dissertation is an exploratory case study to characterize the use of argumentation among novice student engineering designers. The setting is a high school robotics class. Specifically, a group of students from one class section teamed up with a group of students from a separate class section to design and build a single robot. The team members communicated online via a shared, editable document. That text is the primary data set for my analysis. I looked for indications of argumentation structure that emerged from the online discussion, given that, to my knowledge, the students had not been taught argumentation strategies, per se. Engineering design is relatively new to secondary school, so I thought it appropriate to develop a baseline—a case study that reveals how students communicate about their designs when left largely to their own devices. This study may inform the development argumentation scaffolds that support the students’ existing strengths while ameliorating their weaknesses. My analytical supposition was that argumentation in design will take the form of resolving differences of opinion toward the creation of a single design. Hence, I used Pragma-dialectic theory as my analytical framework. It is a broad theory, based upon resolving differences of opinion in everyday conversation. As such, Pragma-dialectic theory may also be able to encompass the idiosyncrasies of team design, such as reliance on intuition and experience, as well as the important roles that designed objects play throughout the process. Taken together, the importance of intuition, experience, and objects suggests multiple modes of communication that ought to be considered arguments within design deliberations. Results suggest that the students worked to resolve differences of design opinions. In doing so, the students relied heavily on their designed objects to make their arguments meaningful. I classified five object-based claims which emerged from the students’ discussions: keystone, tinkering, visual, tactile, and counterfactual. These form the beginnings of a theory of object-based argumentation.
COLONNETTE: A Practice Driven Investigation of Type Design, its History, and the Field as Occupation
(2023-05) Benes, Charlotte
For my combined Plan II Thesis and Design BFA Capstone project, I designed a 6-weight display typeface called Colonnette that is steeped in the history of traditions of type design and calligraphy through the ages. The design and process of developing this typeface was informed by concurrently conducted visual and typographic research as well as a literature review and communications with practicing professional type designers.
Color fields : what designers need to know about color
(2016-08) Witcher, Diana T.; Gorman, Carma; Steiner, Frederick; Schumacher, Jada
The goal of this report is to identify what designers today need to know or understand about color and—consequently—what design educators should be teaching design students about color. While designers use color intuitively like artists, they also use color instrumentally as a means of communication and a medium for creation. Fine arts paint-mixing models of instruction have long dominated color education for designers. While traditional color education holds much value, I propose that today, designers need a more complete understanding, which includes color theory, color systems, color materials and color management. Design educators therefore need to teach more about the practical use of color in practice: color management, color science, color systems and color standards (such as CIE, Pantone, NCS and Munsell) that are used today in design, commerce and industry. I seek to help designers and educators achieve a more comprehensive understanding of color through a series of artifacts designed to illustrate color concepts and through a curated list of existing print and online color resources. These artifacts and resources provide methods for design educators to teach a more contemporary, comprehensive and practice-based understanding of color. The artifacts at the center of this project are didactic toys that demonstrate important concepts in color theory and form a system that illustrates the technical and practical aspects of color as well as an updated framework for understanding color and its production.
Communication through artifact creation
(2014-05) Ogden, James Vincent; Isackes, Richard M.
Communication Through Artifact Creation was an opportunity to design an installation of artifacts in a new and provocative way. Using the inherent properties of the objects contained within the context of the installation as the performative event, the audience was able to shape their own narrative around these objects. Usually, as a scenic designer, I am shaping a space that performers are allowed into but the audience is not. There is a predefined narrative text that is the key element informing the designed artifacts that I make as a representation of the sculpted theatrical space in which a performance will take place. For this exhibit the artifacts designed by me and eleven other artists informed the structure that would house them, and the performative journey was open to the interpretation of the audience’s imagination.
Conceptualization, design and preliminary usability evaluation of a therapeutic modified ride-on car
(2022-06-03) Fashina, Oluwaseun Opeyimika; Sulzer, James S.; Deshpande, Ashish
Young children have the highest incidence of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), often leaving lasting motor and cognitive deficits. My goal was to address upper limb motor deficits in a versatile, motivating, and affordable manner. There are currently few therapeutic toys available for children with severe impairments for training critical tasks such as reaching and grasping, and maintaining motivation is a constant challenge. Highly motivating motorized cars for kids (ride-on cars) have given children with neuromotor impairments the opportunity to gain independent mobility and have been associated with improvements in social development and engagement. I transformed a ride-on car into an engaging therapeutic tool for training reaching and grasping by modifying push, pull, and twist switches with a set of custom designed handles and knobs. I created an easily adjustable mounting arm to position the switches in an accessible manner. The design was evaluated on two five-year-old children with neuromotor impairments. Both children demonstrated increased usage of the switches. The interchangeable handles and adjustable mounting arm made the switch interface design a feasible way to provide upper limb therapy.
"Counter-mapping" the notion of place along the triple border in the Amazon : a participatory art research project with youth using Photovoice and critical place inquiry methodologies
(2018-05) Schoepe, Vera; Mosley Wetzel, Melissa; Nxumalo, Fikile
During this participatory Photovoice-based research project, we elicited the use of Photography and storytelling and observed the emergence of young learner-agency during moments of “unscripted” creative collaboration around the notion of place. Through the co-creation of a Photovoice workshop-experience with García, his staff, and students, I hoped to elicit youth representations of their lives in a Ticuna territory. Our goal was to research situated learning and multimodal composition, while developing an inclusive and collaborative ethnographical approach and fostering dialogue through Photography among young workshop participants. Luis García coordinates the Ayuda de Atención Integral /Arcoiris Foundation, which is an inclusive program that serves children and youth with learning differences in Leticia, at the confluence of rivers and crossroads of the triple border region that connects Peru, Brasil, and Colombia. Workshop participants used cameras as tools to map their life stories and environment.
Culture shock : tales from the 21st century intentional community movement
(2012-05) Bathurst, Stephanie Marie; Minutaglio, Bill; Darling, Dennis Carlyle
In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, the ‘new normal’ left many Americans deflated after losing their financial savings and general confidence in the political system. There is a growing movement saying the traditional path to the American Dream is no longer satisfying. From coast to coast families are moving from sleepy towns to so-called ‘intentional communities’ in search of alternatives. They are building new lives in spiritual enclaves, nudist havens, eco-wonderlands and other unorthodox societies while seeking like-minded souls and a better way of making a living. Although they don’t often reflect the traditional lifestyle of most citizens, they do represent the widespread frustration with the status quo. The United States has long been a safe haven for these nonconformists and continues to attract those seeking escape from the mainstream each year. Intentional communities throughout Texas and the U.S. are flourishing despite harsh economic times elsewhere. This report documents daily life in three intentional communities during 2011 and 2012, all focused on achieving their individual goals of environmental protection, building community bonds, and achieving spiritual enlightenment.
Design and evaluation of a novel in-vivo laparoscope cleaning device
(2019-02-14) Idelson, Christopher Robert; Rylander, Christopher Grady, 1978-; Uecker, John M; Crawford, Richard H; Nichols, Steven P; Williams-Brown, Marian Yvette
Laparoscopy is a method of minimally invasive surgery that is used in millions of procedures annually around the globe. Its usage trend is rising rapidly due to more favorable medical and monetary outcomes, especially when compared to open-surgery. One issue in laparoscopic procedures arises when the laparoscope lens becomes obstructed via condensation, bodily fluids, or tissue matter/residue. Currently, cleaning the laparoscope requires removing the scope from the body, wiping it on a sponge/cloth, and usually applying anti-condensation solution to the lens before reinserting the scope into the body. This scope cleaning process generates concerns related to medical and economic outcomes, with shows statistical correlation to higher rates of complications and post-surgical site infections with extended times under anesthesia. The ability to clean a laparoscope quickly and effectively inside the body stands to improve medical and monetary outcomes for numerous stakeholders. Current technologies show minimal adoption due to problems surrounding efficacy, compatibility, etc. This dissertation describes the analysis of customer needs relating to this medical issue in addition to the design and evaluation of a novel in-vivo laparoscope cleaning device to address the problem. Also included is additional discussion surrounding regulatory considerations of said device