Taught jointly by faculty of the Ross School of Business and the Stamps School of Art & Design, the annual Integrated Product Design course challenges cross-disciplinary student teams from the College of Engineering, Ross School of Business, Stamps School of Art & Design, and School of Information to design, build, and market a brand new product, and then to face free market competition through the IPD Trade Show. This course marks the 27th Trade Show.

The Winter 2021 IPD challenge:  Self Sufficient and in Control, suitable for use by people living in household circumstances.

Background:

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted human life enormously. People fell ill by the millions, many dying, and even people who did not get sick coped with life disruptions in access to health care and education services, job losses, restrictions on movement, and suspension of all activity involving large-scale live gatherings of people. Material goods ranging from yeast and toilet paper to laptop computers and home appliances became unavailable as lifestyles changed suddenly to lockdown mode. Political controversy and civil unrest troubled many nations and communities. As a result of the pandemic, many people long to gain an increased sense of self-sufficiency and life control.

, suitable for use by people living in household circumstances

Students were challenged to design a product-driven solution to help individuals gain an increased sense of self-sufficiency and life control.

• Decide how you would spend up to $150 of IPD money on these products.