Session Chair: Eve Faulkes, West Virginia University [Eve.Faulkes@mail.wvu.edu]

Designers have always been makers in traditional printed and now digital worlds. New and old technologies now entice us to move
beyond file preparation for fabricators and into making prototypes or actual objects that communicate or facilitate. How have book
arts skills, 3D printing, silkscreen, laser-cutting, CNC routing, vinyl cutting or other fabrication methods played a role in prototyping
and user testing as innovative ways of conveying a message or engaging an audience?

Because it is difficult for any individual message to compete with profuse web and print offerings in an age where people see only
what they search for, tactile and physical objects can invite curiosity and participation. The functionality of products must be
intriguing and an appropriate match to the demographic, but the craft and aesthetics need to be just as inviting. Like animation,
innovative objects can portray a bit of magic. Where does the application of such skills work in to the curriculum? How can enough
mastery be attained to allow for confidence and risk-taking with ideas.

This panel invites presentations of successful integration of making into the curriculum where projects have become more
meaningful, participatory or effective for an audience because of it.