This week's Making Things class began with a lecture from John Tubbs, a digital media specialist from CITES. John discussed the process of promoting one's product using video appeals, a la Kickstarter. Video is an especially important means of promoting a new product idea and making appeals for obtaining the resources needed to bring these products to market. We are fortunate to have John's help and expertise in developing these videos for each of our products, which we will then broadcast trough various social media outlets and digital manufacturing sites such as Shapeways. We also continued to work on our product prototyping and prototype testing. After the lecture, some groups went downstairs to the BIF atrium and tested their prototypes among students and faculty. Most groups continued prototyping and making changes to their designs in an iterative manner. This is where the true strength of 3D printing lies, in the ability to quickly make changes and test them out on a week-to-week basis. Thus, this class allows students to learn in an iterative and hands-on manner.

Written by Brady Salz