The industrial design major area’s 8th annual design charrette, “Speaking Volumes,” kick-started the first week of Spring semester 2026 classes – 54 industrial design students across three cohorts were challenged to create ‘inflatable objects’ to match the aesthetic (sound and identity) of a musical artist from Central Ohio. 

Each student team (comprising a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year student) immersed themselves in their assigned artist’s music, met with their artists, then designed a three-dimensional experience. Students were encouraged to think of inflatables functioning as stage props, album cover photo elements, or large-scale installations outside a music venue. 

Caption: Special thank you to the local artists who shared their time with the students (above): 1. Joey Aich 2. Natural Sway 3. Mery Steel 4. Closet Mix 5. Blucone 6. The Whirlybirds 7. Austin & the Syd Experience

Kick-off event special guests included Dr. Alex Schweder, a designer and artist who works with inflatable architecture, and Levi Bedall of Pneuhaus, an Ohio State Knowlton alumni. Their work in large-scale pneumatic architecture reframed inflatables as spatial interventions, objects that shape atmosphere, movement, and emotion rather than simply occupying space. Along with guest talks, students completed a balloon challenge and were introduced to their charrette starter kit materials.

Student groups moved from concept to execution in just a few days, leaning on their design skill and knowledge to prototype, test materials, and pattern-make for inflatables, navigating an unfamiliar construction method that demanded precision and iteration. Each project was required to reach at least ten feet in one dimension, transforming studio spaces into temporary landscapes of inflated forms. Despite the compressed timeline, the work showed strong alignment with the assigned musicians, translating mood, and incorporating their stories into a physical presence. Final structures were inflated and photographed in the large first-floor atrium of Knowlton Hall, home to the Knowlton School of architecture, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning.

The charrette concluded with a wrap event at Hayes Hall alongside the other design majors (Experiential Media Design, Visual Communication Design, and Interior Design) and a final review at Priority Designs, where a panel of jurors shared perspectives on the work. Ultimately, the charrette experience is designed to emphasize experimentation, collaboration, and learning through making. 

Check out our previous charrettes here: 2025 Foley, 2024 Fashion, 2023 Mocktails (and academic paper and mocktail recipe book), 2022 Repair (and academic paper), 2021 Courtyard and 2020 pandemic self-care (academic paper).

A big thank you to our 2025-26 industrial design major area capstone sponsors: Honda Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, Huntington National Bank, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks & Watercraft, and Neighborhood Design Center.

Story and photo credits: William Nickley & Amanda Huynh, February 15, 2026