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HONORS SELF- DESIGNED PROPOSAL

Complete this proposal prior to your experiences start date and upload it in the UHP Database (https://
webapps.uc.edu/uchonorsstudent). Create an experience (Add a new record) in the Tracking Project tab and
upload your proposal document as an attachment. The deadline for submitting proposals is the 5th of each month
(excluding July).
Proposals are intended to be well developed plans for your experience. However, experiences are exploratory in
nature, and we are flexible with changes throughout the experience. If your experience changes after receiving
approval on your proposal, contact your honors advisor to verify the changes still satisfy the requirements of an
honors experience.

Basic Information
Full Name: Michael Andrew Black
Title of Project: Creating a Chair
Thematic Area(s): Creativity & Research
Expected Start Date: 12/01/15
Expected End Date: 04/01/16

GUIDELINES
1. Proposal submission timeline: Proposals should be submitted at least one month prior to the expected
start date of the experience. International experiences require at least two months notice. Contact your
honors advisor immediately for any exceptions.
2. Proposal length: While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4
pages single-spaced.
3. Proposal format: Please maintain the proposal format (e.g. headers, layout)
4. Time commitment: Experiences should consist of at least 75-90 hours of preparation, execution, and
reflection. This is approximately equivalent to the commitment of honors seminars and pre-approved
experiences.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

All self-designed international travel experiences require two months notice and must be at least one week in
length. You will need to provide a detailed itinerary (dates, locations and activities). If participating in
independent travel (not with UC faculty, staff or student group), you must also fill out a Worldwide: Honors
Experience application via UC International.
Additionally, the Student Travel Policy restricts UC-sponsored travel to countries under a U.S. Department of
State Travel Warning. Those who wish to visit a country with a travel warning must seek an exemption through

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UC International. Students traveling without a faculty or staff leader must individually request an exemption.
We cannot allow you to count this travel as an honors experience nor can we give you a grant without an
approved exemption.

1. Abstract
Briefly describe the experience. What makes this experience personally meaningful? What goals do you have for this
experience? What is your timeline for this experience?
*If you are proposing an international experience, provide an itinerary.
**If you are developing this experience from an existing opportunity (class with a study tour, campus organization, co-op,
etc.) that is not already an honors seminar or pre-approved experience, how will you differentiate your experience from
what is already required of other students?
This proposal seems simple, but designing furniture is no easy endeavor; creating a product is a major time
commitment. I intend to create my own chair. From sketching, to rendering, to models, to the final product, I want to have
my own piece of furniture to be proud of. Like many architects and architecture majors, I have a great interest in furniture
and have always wanted to design a piece of my own (specifically a chair). In architecture school, all of our projects have
been independent and short term, and I haven't learned much about collaboration, research, and design. So my primary
goal for this experience is to learn about the design, research, and collaborative processes. Since Ive never pursued such a
large project, its hard to determine my timeline, but I plan on the whole process taking 5 months, starting in December
and ending in April. I expect half of the time to be dedicated to designing,, and the other half will be for making the
physical chair.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

Brief description of the experience

Personal connection to the experience
Identified goals for the experience
Timeline from start to finish
*Itinerary (international experiences only)
**Explanation of differentiated experience
from what is required of other students

2. Experience Advisor
Identify an experience advisor and provide their contact information. Explain why you chose this person and how you
plan to utilize your advisor for this experience.
Note: Advisor(s) should have knowledge or expertise in an area related to the experience. Honors advisors, undergraduate
students, and family members cannot be experience advisors.
Vincent Sansalone: Vincent is my professor for Design Lab and has several years of real world experience in design. I
would consult Vincent through the whole design process about composition and manufacturing.
Contact: vincent.sansalone@uc.edu

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James Postell: Jim is one of my professors in DAAP. He is very passionate and has many years of real design experience.
I would consult him in the early stages of the experience for ideas and advice.
Contact: jim.postell@uc.edu
Henry Hildebrandt: Henry is the professor for my Communication Skills class and has many years of real world design
experience. I would consult him in the early stages of the experience for ideas and advice.
Contact: henry.hildebrandt@uc.edu
Alex Gormley: Alex is a graduate student in architecture at UC who offers me advice and would collaborate with me on
the project. I would consult Alex through the entirety of the experience for advice and general thoughts.
Contact: (513)582-2683
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

Experience advisor name and contact

information
Description of why advisor was selected
Specific plans to engage with advisor

3. Connection to Learning Outcomes

List 3 learning outcomes from any thematic area(s). Provide specific activities you plan to engage in to help you make
progress towards the chosen learning outcomes. Describe how you expect each activity to help your progress. Include an
estimated time commitment for those activities.
Produce dissemination appropriate to the field in order to share the results or impact of the research: I plan to take
extensive notes on the project and save resources form my research. Being able to look back on my compiled research will
be beneficial to my overall understanding of the research process. Ill be able to see what was important and what wasn't
and improve my efficiency in research. I will be doing research until I have my final Design, which will take 2-3 months,
or about 40 hours.
Discover new techniques to gain knowledge, consider options, make new connections, and ask questions: Through the
design process, I will learn new techniques for doing many things. I don't know exactly what I will discover or learn, but I
know that one of the best ways to learn is to simply doing something. Ill have to ask many questions and make several
connections if I want this project to be successful, and I intend to do both. This outcome will develop through the entire
process, so it will take approximately 90 hours.
Explore a new creative competency/medium or seek new ways to engage an existing competency/medium: Ive only ever
built furniture that wasn't of my own design, and Ive only worked with wood (on a very basic level). Nearly this whole
process will be new to me. Ill work with new materials, approach new ways of designing, and dive into a field of design
that I only know the basics of. I expect to learn a lot about architecture by designing a chair, and I expect to use my
knowledge of architecture in the process of designing furniture. This outcome will develop through the entire process, so
it will take approximately 90 hours.

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Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

3 learning outcomes explicitly identified

from any thematic area(s)
Examples of activities and explanation of
how each will assist the progress towards
the chosen learning outcome
Estimated time commitment for each
activity

4. Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes

List 1-2 academic resources you plan to use to enhance your understanding of the learning outcomes. Explain how each
resource connects to your learning outcome(s) and helps you execute your experience. Please include the title and author/
creator for each resource.
Note: Academic resources are professional works that can be used to assist your understanding of the topic. Some
examples are books, documentaries, videos, or research journals.
Furnitecture (Anna Yudina): This book explores the relationship between furniture and architecture. It will help me make
a connection between my new creativity/medium (furniture) and my existing one (architecture). Reading this book will
not only inform me about furniture design, but also contribute to my major. Understanding the relationship between
furniture and architecture will help create something that will be successful and I can be proud of.
DesignPOP (Lisa S. Roberts): DesignPOP is about trends in contemporary furniture and product design. It examines the
furniture of famous designers like, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid (both architects). By reading this book I can keep my
design unique and modern, I can gain knowledge about contemporary design, make connections between myself and
famous architects, and ask questions about what it means to design a piece of furniture.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

1-2 academic resources connected to the

learning outcomes
Title and author of each resource
Description of how resources will help
make progress towards learning outcomes
and execution of experience

5. On-going Reflection
The on-going reflection should help you process the experience and progress toward your chosen learning outcomes.
Describe your method for reflecting throughout the experience. Indicate specific reflection questions/topics you plan to
use to guide your reflective process.
Note: A variety of methods can be used for on-going reflection. Some examples are videos, drawings, blogs, songs, and
journals. Reflection topics to consider include your ideas/insights about the experience, connection to other areas of
involvement, and your progress towards the learning outcomes.
Throughout the process of designing a chair I will be doing sketches, taking notes, and keeping a journal. This
project will have its own sketchbook that will hold all of my sketches, notes, and journals. The amazing thing about a
sketchbook is how versatile it is. It is just a book full of blank pages that are ready to be filled with anything I wish to put

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in them. I love looking back into my old sketch books and seeing where my ideas originated and where they went, and
journaling can be a very useful tool for both ongoing and post project reflection. Ill be sketching all my ideas, and Ill be
writing about the process and my feelings about the project.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

Method for ongoing reflection

Reflection questions/topics clearly
specified

6. Sharing Your Learning

Describe how you plan to actively share what youve taken away from this experience with a targeted audience. Explain
why you chose this specific audience.
Note: While social media can be an effective platform for sharing, only posting on your personal learning portfolio or
social media account(s) does not reach a targeted audience.
Critiques are very important in the design process, so I plan on sharing my work in my studio so that my peers can
critique my work, give me advice, and see what Im up to at all times. I believe it is important to recognize the opinions of
your peers, for they are the people that you will be working alongside for your entire life. Ill pin up sketches, renderings,
notes, models, etc. in my studio so that everyone can see.

Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

At least one method to actively share takeaways/learning from the experience

A specific audience and why the audience
was selected

7. Budget (if applicable)

Provide an itemized budget and indicate your source for cost information.
*If you are engaged in an unpaid internship or research, please indicate the number of weeks and hours per week you
plan to participate.

- Books ($50): DesignPOP and Furnitecture

- Materials ($50-$150): Dont know the exact materials Ill be using, but they will be used for building models and the
final product.

Advisor Feedback

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Notes:
Detailed budget of expenditures with
sources to justify budget estimates
*Indicates the number of hours per week
and number of weeks of participation

Required Revisions:

Effective: