As part of the Master of Design degree at the Institute of Design, I've been engaged in a series of design and research projects. Presentations for some of those projects are shown below and may be viewed in PDF format. (Some presentations depend more heavily on accompanying narration than others; if you're really interested in any of them, I would be happy to explain further.)

Peer Team Effectiveness
Student project teams at the Institute of Design often function very well—but the lack of clear training in healthy teamwork skills also leads to frustrating challenges, experienced by most ID students at least part of the time. By providing context and a simple set of guidelines, this presentation (given four times at ID in the fall of 2006) has helped improve the situation. A self-initiated team design project with and on behalf of Institute of Design students; includes my adaptation of teamwork principles in use at Doblin, Inc. View report (728 KB PDF)
 

Innovation Sourcebook: A Plan for a New Innovation Resource for the Business Community
Innovation is the business buzzword of the moment. So... what is it? We propose an extensive database of innovation case studies, which anyone can explore and draw inspiration from. More than 300 mini-case studies have already been put together; a working prototype will be built in early 2007. A team design project for the Planning Workshop in Innovation, with Trent Kahute, Joshua Kaplan, and Roy Luebke. View on-screen presentation (2.8 MB PDF)
 

Aiptek Portfolio Plan
Aiptek is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of consumer electronics—mostly on the affordable end of the market. This brief plan suggests a path forward with a broader offering. A solo project for the Portfolio Planning class. View report (471 KB PDF)
 

Comunidad Pulte:
New Market Opportunities for America’s Largest Homebuilder
Pulte Homes is uniquely positioned to respond to the needs of the underserved Latino real estate market, and could earn more than $2 billion a year by being
the first to offer a compelling, culturally-appropriate, and integrated real estate buying experience to Latinos. A team design project for the Strategic Planning Workshop, with Joshua Kaplan, Christine Kim, and Waewwan Sitthisathainchai. View on-screen presentation (4.9 MB PDF) | View report (6.9 MB PDF)
 

Design Synthesis: Kids & Media
Tweens (children 9 to 12 years old) want to do what’s fun. How can we encourage a healthy level of activity, foster creativity, and support interconnected community—and help them have fun? We used design synthesis methods to develop concepts, evaluate and extend them, building systems that culminate in a potential offering for joint Apple Computer–Disney venture: creative.collective. A team design project, with Chris Bernard, Mark King, Zachary Paradis, and Aurora Tallacksen. View report (3 MB PDF)
 

A McDonald’s Family Challenges the Status Quo
A surprisingly large number of the innovations McDonald’s is known for originated with franchise owner/operators. Yet the McDonald’s Corporation grew to be the dominant player in the quick serve restaurant category by centralizing and standardizing its operations. This case study, written for use in MBA programs, explores the interaction between bottom-up and top-down innovation. A team research project, with Clinton Barth, Joyce Chen, and Pam Nyberg. View report (939 KB PDF)
 

Aspen Group: Cultivating Strength and Sustainability
in the Not-for-Profit Community
Larry Keeley, president of Doblin, introduced our class to Suzanne Munchin, the CEO of Civitas, an influential organization addressing early childhood issues. We explored a concept Suzanne had been thinking about: how can we help non-profits become more effective? We developed a model for an Innovation Lab for the non-profit world—and our plan is currently under consideration for funding and implementation by a major national foundation. A class design project for the Strategic Design Planning class. View report (31.4 MB PowerPoint)
 

Pratt 2.0: Creating a Powerful Interdisciplinary Design Center
As part of a class in Design Planning Implementation, our team was given the challenge of orchestrating the launch of a plan to dramatically change a historic art school in New York city. We considered change readiness models, leadership communication, and rank-and-file alignment issues to prepare for a successful transition. A team design project, with Doug Look and Zachary Paradis. View report (1.4 MB PDF)
 

What the Pho? An Exercise in Localization Repair
We live in a global society, and the differences between our cultures are often the source of humor—and confusion. This exercise considers some of the less-intuitive aspects of Vietnamese Pho restaurants (at least, in American eyes), and suggests ways of bridging the gap to broaden the appeal of this tasty soup. A solo design project for the Cultural Human Factors class. View report (442 KB PDF)
 

Crescendo: Toward a User Interface for Wearable Computer Systems
The idea of wearable computer systems isn't new, but so far, few commercially-plausible interface systems have been developed. This project explores some key design criteria to make a practical and attractive heads-up UI. A solo design project for the Interactive Media Workshop. View report (11.3 MB PDF)
 

Lingo: A Live Interactive Experience
What will the media system of the future look like? Lingo is a proposed solution that re-integrates community and conversation into rich media experiences. Presented to public broadcasting leaders, and to the creative team of a major global advertising agency. A team design planning project, with Steve Babitch, Joyce Chen, Elizabeth Kell, Lauren Schwendimann, and Waewwan Sitthisathainchai. View report (3.9 MB PDF)
 

PeopleFinder
Informal interactions are critical to the functioning of many work and academic communities. As people roam more from their desks, tracking them down becomes a challenge. This project presents a front-end design solution for a personal locator system. A solo design project for the Interactive Media Workshop. View report (3.3 MB PDF)
 

PaceSilver: Improving Senior Ridership in Suburban Public Transit
Pace, Chicago's suburban bus system, invited us to explore the transportation needs and attitudes of senior citizens, and to recommend a system of innovations to help increase their service to this population segment. We visited senior centers, spoke with eldercare specialists, and interviewed Pace drivers to develop a comprehensive set of actionable recommendations--presented to the executive leadership of Pace. A team research & design project, with Jae-hyun Park and Lauren Schwendimann. View report (4.8 MB PDF)
 

An Ethnographic Study of IIT's Keating Sports Center
The athletic facility at the Illinois Institute of Technology serves all members of the campus community, despite its size and budget limits. We conducted contextual research to uncover user perspectives and to explore desirable innovations in the short and long term. A team research project for the Observing Users class, with Chung-Yi Fan, Geetha Gottumukkala, and Randy MacDonald. View report (10.3 MB PDF) Note: this PDF file contains a video clip optimized for Mac OS X.
 

WalgreensCares: Improving the Prescription Drug Experience
There’s a pill for just about everything, and many people take more than a few. Keeping track of them all can be daunting—even dangerous, if medications are confused or forgotten. WalgreensCares is a proposed communication initiative to help a pharmacy chain like Walgreens provide more user-friendly and timely drug information. A team design project for the Advanced Communication Design class, with Chelsea Holzworth. View report (3 MB PDF)
 

Broadening the Appeal of Portable Media Players
Portable Media Players (for individual viewing of videos and other content) haven't yet hit their stride in the US consumer market. This project explores and defines the characteristics of the next-generation PMP; a report like this would both align corporate leadership to undertake development of such a product, and could be given to the design team to guide its work. A team product definition project, with WonSuk Chung, Daniel Greene, SoYoung Lee, and Jue Lu. View report (1.7 MB PDF)
 

Some contents ©2005–2006 by David McGaw and/or others; some intellectual property rights may be retained by the Illinois Institute of Technology.