Product Design students show off inventions

“The Refined Man,” a pink toilet with a foot pedal attached to its seat, stood on a table in Houston Hall on Tuesday. Surrounded by a crowd of students, its four creators declared it “every girlfriend’s dream.”

“The Refined Man” was one of 13 new products displayed at the Design Fair in Houston Market yesterday afternoon. Students in Product Design — a course offered jointly through PennDesign, Wharton and Engineering — were given the task of making a consumer product that would appeal to the University community. They carried out every aspect of both inventing and marketing a new product for profit.

At the Design Fair, the students pitched their final projects to other students for feedback and support and asked their “customers” to fill out surveys.

The inventions, which attracted interest from many students, ranged from translucent sticky notes known as “Stickits” to stainless steel water bottles containing filters called “Press ‘n’ Filters.”

Professor Louis Padulo, who taught this semester’s Product Design class, felt that the course was valuable to students of all disciplines.

“The students learn how to brainstorm and make several prototypes of their ideas, and they have to come up with a physical product,” he said. “They also have to consider the product’s practicality and appeal by convincing their customers of its usefulness.”

Erik Wolfe, Engineering senior and creator of “the Wire Winder,” said the course was intriguing.

“[The class] exposes you to the business side of product making, but you still have a chance to be very creative,” Wolfe said.

Rachel Cohen, a Quaker Consortium student from Swarthmore College, agreed.

“The class really makes you think about everything that goes into creating the products we buy every day,” Cohen said. “It was interesting that we not only had to address the usefulness of the product, but also its...effect on our customer’s home.”

Although the students’ design work is finished, Padulo said the success of the fair depends on the participation of unaffiliated Penn students. “The main question for the students of this course is ‘Will people buy my product for this price?’”

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