Welcome to the inaugural Design Jam
- the friendly design competition where undergraduate or graduate student participants from teams of 2-5 in order to address a real world problem, prototyping their solutions and pitching them before a panel of professional judges and their jam peers for awards!
The inaugural Jam will run from March 21 to March 28 and is open to all Pitt students, regardless of college, major, or year--and we think interdisciplinary teams will have a design edge. This event builds from the momentum of related Pitt jams like the Games 4 Social Impact Jam and SheInnovates but with distinct goals–instead of being relegated to a game or a purely digital format, the Design Jam encourages teams to imagine solutions in any format (e.g. apps, websites, mechanical devices, community programming), focusing on the process and practice of evolving designs and the skills of a successful pitch.
Register for the Jam today!
Design Jam Schedule
Design Jam Schedule
Launch Event - Friday, March 21st , Barco Law Building room 111
Final team registration. Opening remarks by Dr. Jessica FitzPatrick and Dr. Christopher Maverick, reveal of Design Jam prompt (what problem are you designing for?) and parameters of Design Jam pitch and prototypes. Review of on campus resources and support events. Keynote address by Lynn Priestley. Free food!
During the Week : Unlike some hackathons, this design jam is not a "lock-in" event. It lasts for one week; teams can align their workflow according to individual needs and preferences. During the week, there will be Jam specific support events at maker-spaces throughout campus--stay tuned! Work throughout the week will also be supported by a dedicated Design Jam discord (link provided during registration, see below) and faculty and student design mentors.
Open Lab Jam hours: Monday, March 24th, from 11 am - 5 pm, Open Lab in Hillman Library
Pitch Support: Open Lab in Hillman Library 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Digital Media Lab Jam hours (coming soon!)
Advisory meetings with the Entrepreneurs in Residence at the Big Ideas Center available (first come, first serve) throughout the week.
Grand Pitch & Awards Ceremony - Friday, March 28th, Barco Law Building room 111
Teams will present a short pitch to the judges, articulating why and how their design solutions address the design prompt. Jammers will rate presentations for the Jammer's Choice Award. Everyone will celebrate with free food!Judge Panel
Dave Bishop (former MAYA Fellow, former BCG, Design Director, CMU HCII Adjunct Professor), Michael Higgins (SVP at Nielsen, Rhiza Labs), Lynn Priestley (Pitt alumni and freelance digital designer / accessibility consultant), and Rankin Tran (Student Program Coordinator at Pitt’s Big Idea Center). Judges will offer questions during pitch sessions and provide feedback to each team about their design and help determine award winners.
Awards
Categories include: Judges Choice (selected by the judge panel), Jammer's Choice (voted on by jam participants), Tiny Seed (a design showing great future promise not yet fully realized), and the Spork Award (a design demonstrating great, if not entirely design-prompt aligned, innovation)
Registration and Discord Access
To participate in the Design Jam and to access the Design Jam Discord, please register for the design jam.
Q & A
I don't have a team!
No worries--register through the link above and we will help you find teammates!
I'm not a designer. I don't know how to design.
The Design Jam is designed to be welcoming of all skill levels--our design prompt, support throughout the week, and expectation of deliverables will allow for a positive, and productive, experience for all. If you're a writer, graphic artist, engineer, biology student, architect, theater major, media producer, history minor, sustainability certificate holder...insight and contributions can come from all areas of expertise and, often, the strongest designs come from teams consisting of diverse viewpoints.
What are the judges looking for?
A judging rubric will be shared at the launch event. The jam welcomes physical, digital, and hybrid prototypes and designs.
I can't make the launch event!
That's ok--as long as members of your team can be present to take notes, you're good to go!
It's mid-week and I have a question--what do I do?
Chat with design jam mentors and other jammers in the Jam Discord (provided though the registration link).
Should I list my Design Jam project in my portfolio / my Design Jam award in my resume?
Absolutely--and if you need help thinking this through, ask our mentors on the Discord! This is a great reason to participate in the jam.
My question wasn't answered here.
No worries! Register and ask the question on the Jam Discord (link provided after registration), or email a member of our organizing committee:
Dr. Jessica FitzPatrick (JLF115@pitt.edu) , Dr. Christopher Maverick (cmaverick@pitt.edu) , Abby Zimmerman (ASZ18@pitt.edu)