Ben Drake

Industrial Design, 2024

Pitch N’ Yaw is a balance game based on the first flight of the Wright Brothers

in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC near the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Our industry partner, Dayton Aviation heritage National Historical Park, prompted us to create an experience that excites people, and interests them in the story of the park sites.

Access was my area of interest, which led me to addressing the park’s location, operating hours, and the amount of reading necessary to learn the stories on site in Dayton. To address these concerns, I developed a set of objects that can be used anywhere, at any time, and are easy to understand, while giving people shared experiences. These objects represent Orville and Wilbur, their flier and the Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Pitch N’ Yaw aims to bring awareness to park sites, the brothers’ story, and recreate some of the emotions and excitement of their adventurous and precarious first flight.

Ben Drake is a senior industrial design student graduating in the spring of 2024. After graduation Ben has plans to attend the University of Europe in Potsdam, Germany, continuing his design studies. Ben has a love of new experiences and interacting with people from other cultures. He hopes to use this opportunity to inform his world view and design career.

To see more of Ben’s work visit his portfolio here.