SDM Pitch & Network
On May 15, new graduates from the Parsons Paris Strategic Design and Management program participated in the “Pitch & Network” event, hosted at the Courbet Showroom at the beautiful Place VendĂ´me in the very heart of Paris.
In front of an audience including industry leaders, recruiters and faculty, SDM students presented their project designs in a form of an investor pitch and a prototype exhibition. The pitches and research stemmed from a two-semester Capstone course in which students were required to demonstrate an iterative design, development approach and implementation strategies for a creative business intervention.
The projects, described below, varied from designing a methodology to empower local jewelry artisans in Kenya to implementing an assessment tool that measures the strength of a brand’s personality in a visual and interactive way.
MAJA WAWERU
UNEXPLOITED
Maja was born in Denmark and spent the majority of her life in Kenya. She developed a methodology, for use by artisans and governing bodies, to ensure ethical design practices that empower local artisans and manufacturers while preventing cultural exploitation.
Alec lived most of his life in Atlanta, Georgia, but considers New York City his home. The cultural differences between these two metropolitan cities always intrigued him and inspired his capstone exploring the facets of differing perspectives. Intrigued by the way a single image can elicit such diverse reactions by its viewers, Alec applied this idea to brands, creating a methodology and a tool that measures the strength of a brand’s personality.
Sidney was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. Throughout the fall semester of 2018, she interned at Chanel Cosmetic Studio Lab and explored the brand’s product development and research processes. Intrigued by the world of cosmetics and conscious about the importance of inclusivity in her generation, Sidney was inspired to design a gender non-conforming makeup brand.
Dylan grew up in California and New York. His travels and international experiences strengthened his belief that data must be reliable, easily accessible and comprehensible to a broad public, as a base for well-informed decisions. Particularly passionate about sustainability, Dylan’s thesis research addresses unsustainable methods  and the lack of transparency in the fashion industry.
After the presentations, students and the guests had the opportunity to meet and talk informally in more detail about presented projects and post-graduation ambitions.
Congratulations to the first class of Parsons Paris SDM graduates!
Photos : Julien Mouffron-Gardner