NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2007

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

HOW NEAT STUFF GETS MADE—HIGH SCHOOL INDUSTRIAL DESIGN SUMMER CAMP
OFFERED AT UH COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

Cool-looking iPods. Functional shopping carts. The box that keeps your chicken nuggets hot. Before they got to you, they started with an industrial designer. Now, the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, together with Wonderworks, is sharing its expertise with high school students in a five-week, intense summer program called In Good Shape.

“The idea is to introduce high school students to industrial design and explore how products are designed,” said David Tsai, visiting assistant professor and industrial designer. “This is the first time this has been offered to high school students in Houston, and I’m really excited to see what this next generation of designers will create.”

Tsai will lead the summer workshop with Steven Umbach, of Umbach Consulting Group, which does new product development and design strategy. Umbach is also a lecturer in the UH industrial design program.

In Good Shape is open to Houston-area students in grades 10, 11, 12 and college students. Scholarships are available for those students who demonstrate financial need. For more information on the In Good Shape Industrial and Product Design Workshop, call 713-301-4882 or ingoodshape@wonderworkshouston.org.

The UH Industrial Design Program at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture is the only such program in the surrounding four-state region. The program began in 2003 and focuses on the design of products for mass production.

“In Good Shape will use slide-illustrated lectures, case studies and studio projects to give students a direct experience and understanding of what design is and what it entails,” Tsai said.

Wonderworks is a non-profit organization that provides high school students in the Houston area pre-college learning experiences in fine arts, literature and media. By exploring challenging subject matter and techniques in a college setting with college-level instructors, students acquire skills, information, outlooks and connections that significantly expand their cultural and artistic horizons.

For more information on the UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, visit www.arch.uh.edu/home/index.html.
For more information on Wonderworks, visit www.wonderworkshouston.org.

WHAT: In Good Shape Industrial and Product Design Workshop
WHEN: June 19 – July 20
WHERE: UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture
For directions and parking information, visit www.arch.uh.edu/home/index.html
WHO: UH Industrial Design Program at the College of Architecture

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.