Students Create Mobile App Highlighting Jacksonville’s Hot Spots
They’ve created Get Out the Vote posters, designed billboards addressing social issues and invented ways to design more sustainable school ecosystems, but this year AIGA Jacksonville’s Discover Design students are tackling technology.
More than a dozen high school students interested in design from area schools—Atlantic Coast High School, Englewood High School, Frank H. Peterson Academies of Technology and Stanton College Preparatory School—meet each week and, with the guidance of their mentors, work to create a mobile app featuring Jacksonville’s insider locales. The app showcases a tour from each student with five unique destinations. Looking for great international cuisine? We’ve got you covered. Exploring the green scene here in Jacksonville? Get started with the app! Tours include a wide range of subjects as diverse as the students, from alternative sports to live music venues to neighborhood highlights and even the supernatural.
The program offers students a chance to learn about the design process and practice high-level creative thinking in a collaborative environment, gaining invaluable experience with design professionals, according to Casie Simpson, Discover Design co-chair with Natalie Kennedy.
“Mentors get back to their roots as designers by sharing their knowledge and experiences with the younger generation,” she says. “The app has allowed us to take a close look at the businesses, parks and cultural resources that make Jacksonville unique. We’ve had local professionals in to speak about incorporating students’ illustration, sculpture and photography skills into interactive touchscreen technology.”
Teams are putting the finishing touches on their tours, and the app will soon be rolled out to the community. “When they complete the project, students will realize the power of great design—the ability to communicate a message that both informs the audience and promotes action,” Casie says.
Thank You, Mentors!
Discover Design wouldn’t be possible without the design professionals who volunteer their time each week. A huge thank you to our 2012 mentors: Greg Ausum, Sean Collins, Jen Cone, Donald Dela Torre, Joey Egly, Dennis Eusebio, Barbara Georges, Bryan Hunt, Corey Kolb, Karen Kurycki, Ian Lachut, Ian Latchmansingh, Tiffany Monks, Andy Nguyen, Varick Rosete, Stephanie Soden, Nick Villalva, Ben Windsor and Summer Wood.
Students will show off their work at the final session this Saturday, April 7. Here’s a look at some of the fun we’ve had this year…
~Leah, public relations chair
(photography by Karen Kurycki)
