Dara Benno, S/IDSA, having just completed her Master of Industrial Design at Rhode Island School of Design, was awarded the Marc Harrison Award in recognition of a student for excellence in design and innovation.
Ready Made, Made Ready: Everyday Objects for Everyday Emergency
“Climate change is altering the world as we know it. We live in a chronic state of emergency. It’s easy to slip into a downward spiral of despair or ignore what we know to be true in order to carry on with our day-to-day responsibilities. By facilitating a complete recognition and heightened awareness of the common threats brought on by the climate crisis, we can begin to make the mental shift toward living in a new normal.
Ready Made, Made Ready rejects a dissociative attitude and seeks to shift exceptionalist feelings of entitlement to a focus on building resilience for the future. By merging mundane objects with emergency capabilities in a lifestyle collection entitled ICOE (In Case of Emergency), this work questions how to integrate elements of preparedness into our everyday lives and how to increase a sense of agency in a world where we lack control.”
On receiving the prestigious Marc Harrison Award for her work, Dara says:
"I'm super honored to have received the Marc Harrison Design Excellence Award in recognition of design excellence and innovation from the Rhode Island School of Design Industrial Design department. I look forward to continuing to develop a human-centered design practice—questioning the world and the systems within it, pushing boundaries and developing impactful designs that reach people on an emotional level."
Get in contact with Dara via email at dbenno [at] alumni.risd.edu or visit her on Instagram and LinkedIn