The Human-Centered Design (HCD) concentration, which launched in 2023–2024, recently completed its first Summer Design Lab session.
Michelle Janning, the Raymond and Elsie DeBurgh Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology, and six students (Kai Bowen ’25, Riley Cooper ’26, Meera Jain ’25, Malcolm McGraw ’25, Anika Patel ’26 and Alondra Quintero ’25) designed a new outdoor playground prototype and presented their work to local community partners. During the six-week lab, the students learned about childhood development needs, nature-based play and native plants, toured existing learning centers, and met with experts in parks and recreation, and sustainable design.
Last week, the group presented their proposal, complete with a model that could be adjusted to show different stages of the playground transformation. The audience included representatives from Walla Walla Center for Children and Families, Walla Walla Valley Early Learning Coalition, Walla Walla Valley Disability Network, Akin and several Whitman departments.
The project was funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Participants included students with majors or minors in: Art, Computer Science, English, Environmental Studies, Film and Media Studies, Hispanic Studies and Sociology.
This week, the HCD Summer Design Lab took over the Our Whitman Instagram account where they are sharing more about their experiences.
