“Most Lit,” “Daredevil,” “Best in Show” – guest judges awarded these and other pumpkin carving superlatives to students during a recent event hosted by the student chapter of Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) at Ohio State.

Thanks to IDSA student leadership (Olivia Doland, Jaqueline Brandon, Jason Dionisio, Grace Gerber, & Sarah Kocher) and Faculty Advisor Assistant Professor William Nickley, the 2022 IDSA Pumpkin Carving Challenge welcomed 30 guests. Together, guests carved 21 pumpkins while enjoying seasonal music and provisions.

A panel of four designers from the Central Ohio region (Maria Basile, Isabella Brown, Carley Giles, and Stephanie Owens) served as pumpkin judges; after nearly 2 hours of carving, judges scrambled to choose pumpkins deserving of festive titles, like “Well Crafted,” and “Scariest.” A young guest awarded a “Kids’ Choice” superlative!

The Pumpkin Carving Challenge was not only a festive way for students to experience design community at Ohio State, but the event also served as a fundraiser for the IDSA student organization; guests had the option to purchase a locally sourced pumpkin (cleaned and gutted by IDSA students), local design firms were offered the opportunity to sponsor the event in exchange for a custom pumpkin (designed and carved by an IDSA student member).

Generous contributions from Columbus-based Design Central and Cincinnati-based Kaleidoscope Innovation, alongside pumpkin sales proceeds, resulted in IDSA raising $552. IDSA plans to earmark funds raised through this event to support an international design field trip in May, 2023.

3rd-year Industrial Design student Korene Embrack designed and carved the Design Central pumpkin with help from her classmate Jason Dionisio. 3rd-year Industrial Design student Jackie Brandon designed and carved the pumpkin for Kaleidoscope Innovation.

When asked about sponsoring the event, a representative for Kaleidoscope said, “Anything that helps the OSU design program and IDSA student chapter is a win in my book! It makes me so happy to see the department flourish.”

Visitors to Hayes Hall the week before Halloween could view pumpkins in-person. If you missed them this year, IDSA says they plan to run the event again in 2023!