For some, the hammock tied between two trees in the atrium of the Architecture Building is nothing more than a place to kick back and take a breather. But this seemingly small addition is actually part of a much bigger picture.
UF students in the Design Innovation course will participate in the Make a Difference project throughout the next two months. The project was introduced to the students Tuesday and encourages them to use their skills in small ways to make big differences, said Margaret Portillo, a professor and chairwoman for the Department of Interior Design.
The project is sponsored by the Interior Design Educators Council. This is the third year UF students are participating, Portillo said. Students identify nonprofit organizations with specific needs and implement solutions — called “design interventions” — to meet those needs.
Before this semester, Portillo said, students had the option to address a need on campus. The hammock in the atrium was the result of one project. This semester, however, students will work only with nonprofit organizations off campus.
She said the focus was put on organizations off campus so students could take their expertise and creativity into the community and increase the scope of their impact.
In the past, Portillo said, this project has been done with interior design majors and nonmajors enrolled in Design Innovation. This semester, for the first time, the project is also being done with an online section.
With the integration of the online section and a list of about 100 organizations for students to choose from, she said the department is really “opening the floodgates” of possibility within the project.
Peggy Carr, the associate dean for the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning, helped coordinate students’ efforts in previous semesters. She said students need to be aware of how their design efforts later in their careers will affect people, and this project shows them how their work can make a real difference.
Pamela Driza, a graduate student and Design Innovation instructor, said part of the importance behind this project is showing students what interior design is really about.
“There’s a misconception that it’s decorating, and it absolutely is not,” Driza said. “We will not pick pillows, and we will not pick carpet in this semester. It won’t happen.”
Because Design Innovation is an introductory course, Driza said, the project is an opportunity for students to see how far they can push the envelope.
Some students approach Driza with concerns about the extent of their creativity, but she said these are the students who often develop the most creative and impactful solutions.
She said the goal is to submit about three of this semester’s projects to the IDEC Social Responsibility Network, which will compile the ideas for exhibition at the IDEC conference and online.
Because the point of the project is for students to make an impact on the organizations they work with, Portillo said she sees the online section as an opportunity for the program to grow and multiply the overall effect on the communities students select.
At one point, students will have 36 hours to fully implement or physically install their design interventions within the organizations, which receive them for free.
Portillo, who introduced the project to a section of Driza’s students Tuesday, said she recognized the looks of trepidation on students’ faces when she mentioned the time limit, but it generally is not an issue.
The strict 36-hour deadline and extended emphasis on the post-design evaluation, she said, requires students to use photographs and other forms of documentation to show how a design is incorporated and used within the organizations.
“These can be small solutions, but they really do make a difference,” Driza said.
