Design students to compete in live 'Shark Tank'-style challenge

The Western Washington University Department of Design is challenging senior BFA design students to a high stakes, head-to-head competition against each other design and pitch new products. Twelve students will individually design a new product. At the end of the competition, students will pitch their concept to the panel of sharks in a live “Shark Tank”-style format. Eleven will sink. One will swim.

Students in Professor Brittany Schade’s BFA Seminar class focused the second half of the quarter on product design and creative enterprise. They learned business development, public speaking, product design and 3D rendering. For this project, they had the opportunity to develop concepts based on personal interests or community development. Each student project is unique and spans a wide range of categories including digital products, toys, publications and functional objects.

The final presentations will each be a short, 3-minute-or-less pitch that includes highly visual graphics and videos that showcase their products, as well as research and strategy to support their endeavors. The “Design Wars: Shark Challenge” judging will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, in Fraser Hall Room 101 on Western's Bellingham campus.

The event is free and open to the public. Visit http://www.wwu.edu/ps/parking/visitors.shtml for directions and information regarding parking.