On Dec. 3, the Design Thinking to Open Entrepreneurship class taught by Director of Design and Innovation Matt Abbondanzio visited Paragon Furniture in Arlington, Texas. Abbondanzio says the purpose of this trip was to address challenges in workplace design by focusing on how faculty balance productivity and social connection.
In previous years, each student pursued an individual project, identifying their own problems and developing unique solutions. However, this year, the class is working collectively on the same project, focusing on a shared “white space” challenge related to faculty workspaces.
“Our goal is to allow students to go from the beginning of identifying a problem to making a functional prototype or business model around that solution,” Abbondanzio said.
The class teamed up with co-founder of Paragon Furniture, Mark Hubbard, to conduct research and interview staff about their work environment.
“Our yearlong goal is to create a prototype for faculty to balance productivity and staying social with other faculty,” sophomore Ayush Shetty said. “We, as a class, asked Paragon Furniture staff some questions regarding these issues.”
This recent visit to Paragon Furniture marks the class’s second field trip this semester. Previously, the students traveled to a school within the Lewisville Independent School District, where they conducted interviews with faculty to gather firsthand insights into their challenges.
“It is about finding those insider perspectives, what people might not even realize is a problem,” Abbondanzio said.
Students have begun prototyping solutions to enhance faculty workspaces as well as potential marketable products. The collaboration with Hubbard provides a real-world perspective, guiding students through the process of turning their theoretical research into solutions.
“The class has brought me valuable insights about issues I did not even know existed, and it has definitely broadened my perspective and given me a more entrepreneurial view of life,” junior Lyle Pailet said.
