Brooke Brandewie, DAAP '08
Product Development
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My involvement with the Live Well Collaborative began my senior year at DAAP. I was attracted to participate because it presented a new opportunity to work with students outside of my area of fashion, as well as the exposure to companies across a variety of industries.
My first LWC corporate-sponsored project was largely diverse, including business, industrial design, fashion design, product development and digital design students and faculty; it was with General Mills, and focused on food packaging design for 50+ women. I decided to continue with the Collaborative as a co-op
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student the following quarter, which I split my time working on research for my senior design thesis alongside of a new project with Hill-Rom. Both projects were focused in the medical field; my thesis towards the re-design of medical wear, and the Hill-Rom project towards a solution for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers around medicine management. This experience led to a full-time position with the Collaborative, to help facilitate the research and design process with another Hill-Rom project. This project focused on the re-design of patient gowns, particularly for patients who are prone to extreme medical conditions. A broad range of disciplines participated in the experience, including nursing, bio-medical engineering, business, and design.
Overall, the Live Well Collaborative experience has been a transforming experience for me as a designer. It exposed me to other disciplines and industries. I’ve also learned to appreciate how other students think and work differently from myself, and also how crucial it is to work as a multi-disciplinary team in order to discover the innovative concepts. Because of my experience, I’ve realized how much more important a collaborative process is to enlightenment and learning for all stakeholders, for optimal end (tangible) results. Academia and Industry, with professionals of a variety of ages, work together to think differently at the Live Well Collaborative. These are learned experiences that will change how I approach design thinking in the future.
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