Schedule of Programs:

Magic and Design Hackathon: Reducing Children’s Anxiety in Healthcare Settings
Curry Student Center Senate Chambers
1 – 6 PM

Register to attend in person.

In collaboration with Vinay Aggarwal, Jeanette Andrews and the Magic & Medicine Lab, Eugene Buff and Health Sciences Entrepreneurs, Khyle Hannan, Miso Kim, Michael Arnold Mages, Juhan Sonin, Stephen Wood and the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.
Prize provided by Pitch Bob.

At the intersection of creativity and problem-solving, design empowers us to tackle complex issues in innovative ways. This year, we’re taking a design-centered approach to a challenge that impacts families everywhere: reducing children’s anxiety in healthcare settings.

Calling all innovators! We invite you to join our hackathon, where participants will collaborate to reimagine tools, technologies, and approaches that transform stressful medical visits into moments of comfort and empowerment for kids. Throughout the day, your ideas will take shape through brainstorming and hands-on work sessions, culminating in final presentations where teams will showcase their solutions.

From playful designs for intimidating devices to personalized tools for unique fears, let’s create ideas that truly make a difference. Submit your ideas at this link, and together, let’s build a brighter, calmer future for young patients!

Bridging Gaps, Co-Creating Access: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Improving Rural Healthcare in Maine
Center for Design
1:30 – 2:30 PM

Register to attend in person. | Register to attend virtually.

In collaboration with the Knox Clinic, Scout Labs, Bouvé College of Health Sciences and The Roux Institute.
Presentation by Sara Carr, Estefania Ciliotta, Shannon Haley, Michael Arnold Mages, Susan Mello and Katherine Simmonds.

Over the past two years, our interdisciplinary research team composed of collaborators from experience/service design, public health, nursing, architecture, and communication has been partnering with a nonprofit clinic in rural Maine to identify, design, prototype, and evaluate innovative models of rural, community-based care through a participatory research approach. In this presentation, we will share our progress in addressing health inequities and access in rural areas through the design and implementation of a mobile healthcare van, as well as other operational and systemic interventions such as blueprints and frameworks to help healthcare providers replicate alternative ways to healthcare delivery.

Using Participatory Design to Develop Voice User Interfaces with Older Adults
Center for Design
3 – 4 PM

Register to attend in person. | Register to attend virtually.

Presentation by Smit Desai.

As Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) become more prevalent in everyday life, designing effective and engaging conversational AI for older adults requires a thoughtful, user-centered approach. Older adults have distinct needs, preferences, and challenges when interacting with voice-based systems, making participatory design a crucial tool for creating intuitive and accessible experiences. In this talk, Dr. Smit Desai will share his expertise in designing conversational AI systems for older adults, developing systems that can serve as teachers, storytellers, and exercise coaches. He will discuss best practices for VUI design, strategies for effectively engaging older adults in participatory design workshops, and key insights into how they perceive and interact with conversational systems. Through real-world examples and research-backed findings, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how to design VUIs that are functional and meaningful for older adults.

Click on each day to view more details:

Design Research Week 2025 Overview

This is Monday, March 17 – Health + Wellness

Tuesday, March 18 – Creativity + Play

Wednesday, March 19 – Community + Civic Futures

Thursday, March 20 – Data + AI

Friday, March 21 – Form + Materials

Saturday, March 22 – Graphic Voices of Latin America Exhibition

Sunday, March 23 – Interventions: Shift