Two New Studios Join the Network in Fall 2020!

Press & News

Aug 11

This post was originally published on August 11, 2020.

At the DFA Days of Summer Studio Kickoff, Design For America announced 2 new studios joining the DFA Network in this special year. These studios worked hard to build their campus network, recruit students, and practice the design process, all while adapting to the health crisis and moving to a remote, online studio format. Launching a studio is hard work, and we’d like to recognize the passion and commitment of the students, mentors, and community partners that made launching their studios possible. Join us in welcoming Williams and UT Austin to the DFAmily!

DFA Williams College
Location: Williamstown, MA
Founders: Victoria Liu, Amanda Chen
Advisors: Ric Grefe, Paula Consolini
Contact: williams@designforamerica.com

DFA Williams spun out of a student- and university-wide desire to empower liberal arts education with community-based problem-solving skills rooted in design thinking. For their launching project, they began with design research for urban accessibility for the aging population. Mid-March, teams pivoted topics to collaborate with Williams Students Online, a student-run organization on campus that provides campus resources to the student community, to . Student leaders adapted rapidly despite the changing world and built a strong digital DFA community to collaborate over MURAL and Zoom. Their final prototypes and test sessions improved upon the interface, usability, and perception of the WSO website, helping students gain more support on campus.

This Fall, they’re excited to reach out to more community businesses and organizations that would be interested in collaborating on DFA projects, especially with the economic and health crises from the pandemic.

DFA University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Founders: Brooke Reaves, Shoumik Dabir
Advisors: Gray Garmon, Jason Wilkins, Jared Culp
Contact: texas@designforamerica.com

DFA UT Austin originally launched in 2015 and re-launched this summer stronger than ever. Supported by the Center for Integrated Design, teams used their passion and drive to learn design thinking and create a better experience for students using study spaces on campus. At the same time, another team led by Albert Escobedo partnered with the YMCA for the Cultivating Changemakers National Project, resulting in a Changemakers Summer Camp an online Changemakers Certification final concepts.

This Fall, they’re excited to lead workshops for project leads and members to learn more about design-thinking. The hope is for projects to foster a fulfilling experience for their DFAmily to learn more about social impact and innovation through design!