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Designing the Future of Glassware

Industrial Design Juniors and Graduate Students partner with ARC International

One of the most unique experiences of the industrial design program at Jefferson University is the client sponsored projects. Over the years, Jefferson has remained close with many of its alumni whose relationships spawn new and exciting projects. In the past, companies like Johnson and Johnson, Comcast, iHome and Target all have been a part of collaborations with Industrial Design students at Jefferson.  

Several years ago, Jasmine Meley graduated from the ID program at Jefferson and landed herself a job at ARC International, one of the largest glass companies in the world. This year Jasmine came back to Jefferson with a challenge for the Juniors and Graduate students; Design the Future of Glassware. Students were given three weeks to design and develop their products. The challenge asked students to look at future trends and examine where the glass market might be heading.

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Students analyzing current ARC products at the project kickoff

Students were to take part in the challenge, which was also an international competition. In addition to Jefferson University, several schools around the world, located in France, China and Germany, were also asked to participate in the challenge. At the end of the competition, one student from each school would be selected to travel to Germany to present their concept at the annual Ambiente table top show.

ARC also invited the classes to explore their facilities in Millville, NJ, where over one million glasses are made a day. The trip allowed students to gain a better understanding of different glassware manufacturing methods. After three weeks of design and development, Jefferson design students presented to ARC in a trade booth style presentation. Everyone was given 5 minutes to present their ideas and receive feedback from a panel of judges.

Three finalists were picked to present their ideas in New York at a smaller private show, exclusive to buyers to gain valuable insights on their designs. “Getting selected to go to New York was a very beneficial experience, especially to talk with industry professionals about our projects,” says Jess Monteleone, a junior of the program.

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NY Finalists Jess Monteleone, McKenna Burns and Ilan DiFilippo

After several weeks of deliberation, Jess was also selected as the first place finalist for the project. When asked about the experience she said that “Working with ARC on this project provided a great new perspective for the development of our product, as we were challenged to be creative and respond to feedback, while staying within the company’s guidelines.”

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Jess with her double walled glasses: “DEUX”

 

Stay tuned for updates on Jess’s trip to Germany!

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