Around 250 first-year core students participated in the College of Design Procession of Forms on Friday.

The Procession of Forms project was designed to teach the element of design to students in the Core Design Program. Rylan Schaffer, a student planning to major in architecture, worked with her group to create her project.

“We made the structure out of cardboard, and then we paper-mached and painted it. We all kind of had a part for it, it was all combined work,” Schaffer said.

Schaffer’s group created a blue and pink hammerhead shark. 

“It was a hammerhead shark, and then to add movement, we did accordion things between it to move it easier,” Schaffer said. 

Avery Lichter, a core design sophomore planning to study interior design, explained her group’s project theme.

“We’ve been working on this for five weeks and our inspiration for our project was Under the Sea, so we tried to implement that, and we used cardboard and paper to make it,” Lichter said.

Nathan Edwards, an associate teaching professor and the core design program coordinator, said this project is a semester tradition that has evolved over the past 10 years. 

“I’ve taught in 1020 for over 10 years now, and when I first started teaching the project, it dealt with cardboard and twine, for example,” Edwards said. 

Over the years, more materials have been introduced and the Procession of Forms has gradually become what it is today. 

“This new iteration allowed us to take our creative expressions and celebrate them with the community,” Edwards said. “Students in the college, especially first years, are learning that their work as artists and designers impact people around them.”

The Core program teaches students the elements of design, such as line, shape, color, texture and value. Edwards said this project is a culmination of all of these aspects. 

“The elements and principles of design are the building blocks and the common language that artists and designers speak. It’s how we understand each other, and it’s what students engage with in the studio,” Edwards said. 

Kate Hoover, a core design sophomore planning to major in architecture, said she enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that came with walking in the parade.

“As much as I complained about walking in the parade because I thought it would be embarrassing, it actually was very fun to show off our work and get to see the other classes and how they interpreted the project,” Hoover said. “It brought a feeling of pride in our accomplishment of starting a project and finishing it.” 

Schaffer said participating in the procession was interesting but walking with so many other students made it fun. 

“I felt like everyone was just staring and slightly confused but it was fun because everyone was doing it,” Schaffer said.

If you missed the parade, you can still see some of the projects displayed in an exhibition in the College of Design atrium for the remainder of the spring semester. 

If you want to see more Core design program student work, the Core Exhibition will be open from April 14-27. On April 24, stop by for a closing public reception and studio open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the College of Design. 

“I think this project is good for the core program because it helps us think outside the box and prepare us for future projects that we work on, whether it’s in architecture or interior design,” Lichter said.