Product Design

To commemorate a $10 million gift to Otis College of Art and Design by Board of Trustees Chair Mei-Lee Ney, the North Building—which houses the College’s BFA Product Design program on its Goldsmith campus in Westchester—has been renamed the Mei-Lee Ney Design Studio. 

Even though he’s immersed in a world of make-believe, Markus Maciel (BFA Toy Design, ’01) roots his work in real-life pragmatism. As an instructor in the Toy Design Department at Otis College of Art and Design, Maciel helps students essentially re-live their childhoods as they dream up toy characters and games to successfully launch to market. “Even a simple toy has a story to tell,” Maciel says.

This spring, Otis College of Art and Design juniors and seniors interested in product design had the chance to develop hands-on experience in the creation of film and theater props.

Women’s History Month kicks off today and, while the annual commemoration started in 1987, this year’s observance—coming as it does in the wake of #MeToo—is especially pressing and consequential. It follows that brands planning tie-ins to the event can expect to be under greater scrutiny than usual. So it’s a good bet that heads will turn with the unveiling of “Rising to the Occasion,” a just-announced activation from PepsiCo-owned Stacy’s Pita Chips that includes a limited-edition series of special packaging.

“Growing up in Hawaii, I lived a very positive lifestyle and I was trying to promote that within my family and friends,” says Chaz Inouye (BFA Product Design ‘17). “I wanted to take that into designs of my own. Encouraging more positivity within the lives of my users is the main inspiration of my work.”