Department Blog
Department news, events, and snapshots of student life at SVA in New York City.
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Language In Language Out: Natural Language Processing in the Context of Indigenous South African Languages
As a digital native who cannot imagine life without the conveniences of technology, Kgothatso Lephoko observed that of the 11 official languages in her home country South Africa, there are 9 indigenous languages that are underrepresented in the technology used thus limiting access to 46 million people, representing 79% of the population. Common applications of natural language processing (NLP), which is broadly defined as the ways in which computers understand and communicate with human language, include spell checking, machine translation, search engines, chat bots and voice interfaces such as Siri and Alexa.
Kgothatso’s thesis, Language In Language Out: Natural Language Processing in the Context of Indigenous South African Languages, explores the extent to which indigenous language speakers in South Africa are disadvantaged by technologies that exclude their languages and how she can use design to contribute to the development of more equitable tools to address this problem.
In Celebration of International Women's Day: An Assortment of Past Projects Designing for Women and Girls
In honor of International Women’s Day today, we’ve assembled a collection of projects designed by current students and past alumni—each centered around designing for women and girls.
BIRTH REBORN: Using Design to Address Barriers to Equitable Maternal Care for Black Women
At a time when the maternal mortality rate in the US is soaring, Victoria Ayo's thesis, Birth Reborn: Using Design to Address Barriers to Equitable Maternal Care for Black Women, aims to give voice and power back to black women and mothers. Her project explores how design can build more awareness, facilitate the integration of ancestral knowledge, leverage the community, and help eliminate barriers to equitable birth outcomes. Victoria proposes new realities for collective care, bringing the wellbeing of mothers out of isolation and into solidarity.
BY CHOICE: Designing the Abortion Journey
Pantea Parsa grew up in Iran, where she encountered a confusing dichotomy: traditional Iranian society taught her that motherhood is the ultimate fulfillment for women, but, at home, she absorbed a different perspective. Her mother was an independent and successful woman who refused to be defined only as a mother and a wife. Pantea strived to be like her mother from a young age and ultimately decided that she doesn't want to become a mother in the future. However, should she become pregnant, she couldn't ignore the harsh reality that she would have to find an illegal back-alley abortion. For her thesis, By Choice: Designing the Abortion Journey, Pantea designed a suite of products that address the abortion journey from different lenses—including access, community, activism, and male accountability.
VIDEO: Ari Melenciano Lecture at Products of Design
On December 11th, the extraordinary Ari Melenciano visited Products of Design to share her body of work, her vision, and her advocacy…and it was an incredible lecture. Ari is the founder and producer of Afrotectopia, the New Media Arts, Culture and Technology Festival. In addition, she is the founder and director of Publics.School—a platform exploring experimental methods to disseminate social justice issues, working on the first project called Justice Factory, an interactive data visualization platform for activists. Beyond these initiatives, Ari also shared her line of experimental "neo-retro" digital analog cameras, Ojo Oro; AricianoTV, an online video tutorial channel on creative coding; and a VJ/DJ (in the duo, GVÖ), with a residency in Brooklyn, NYC. Please enjoy the video and snapshots below!
MONO/POLY: Designing for a Post-Marriage Society
After becoming interested in the growing phenomenon of non-monogamous relationships, Yangying developed her thesis, MONO/POLY: Designing for a Post-Marriage Society, to create services, experiences, and educational games that speak to polyamorous partnerships and envision a society where monogamy is no longer the default ordering principle of society.
HARK: An Over-the-Counter Rape Kit
Hark, a speculative project created by second year student Antya Waegemann, is proposed to be the first over-the-counter sexual assault forensic exam (or “rape kit”) available at any major pharmacy. Small and discreet, Hark is designed to be approachable and comforting for survivors of sexual assault.
JUSTICE BY ALL: Revitalizing Civic Engagement in the Judicial System
Julia Lindpaintner’s thesis work was inspired by her own experience of serving on a grand jury in Manhattan during the summer of 2016. It profoundly changed her understanding of the judicial system, and in particular, the way she saw her role in it. “My mental model shifted,” Julia states. She further explains, “Instead of seeing the judicial system as an autonomous force over which I had no influence, I felt viscerally the way in which we, as citizens, are collectively responsible for the system and the outcomes it produces.”
SINCERELY, Toward a Contemporary Design of Assisted Suicide
Natsuki Hayashi’s master's thesis, titled Sincerely, explores a contemporary design of assisted suicide. Utilizing design to reimagine the way we die, Natsuki pushes the boundaries of the legally, morally, and emotionally appropriate ways to end life.
“We are living in a contemporary world of slow deaths,” writes bioethicist Margaret Battin. Indeed, deaths have specific shapes to them. But with deaths that are predictable, occur later in life, and can be delayed for longer periods of time using advanced medical technology, doctors can do a lot to prolong life—even if it means more suffering for the patients. Today, most doctors have no choice but to help end the lives and suffering of their patients.