CCAD students Hack the Home—and win—at FirstBuild Mega Hackathon

Photos courtesy of Ty Wright 

They came, they saw, they hacked the home.

A group of Columbus College of Art & Design students headed to Louisville Sept. 15–16 to compete against more than 150 collegiate and professional peers in “Hack the Home,” a Hackathon—that is, a marathon of innovation and creation—hosted by FirstBuild and sponsored by 3M, Renesas, Samtec, and US Steel.

Teams were challenged to form teams to improve upon home appliances, with entries judged based on feasibility, viability, and desirability. Omar Perez-Carrillo (Fashion Design, 2022) was part of a team, “Without Borders,” that was recognized with $1,000 and the IDO Award for “Best User Experience for a Physical Product” for its creation “coolfriend,” a mat for the inside of a fridge that alerts users to rotate food in order to reduce waste. An app for the product was built onsite as part of the competition.

Veil, a team comprised primarily of CCAD students, took home a $500 sponsor prize from GE Appliances for its multi-application countertop that employed Bluetooth tech and included a hidden hotplate.

Other projects designed by teams with CCAD members included wearable tech for people with Alzheimer’s disease and a wastebasket that automatically separates garbage and recyclable goods.

The FirstBuild Hackathon brings in hundreds of competitors, including professional engineers and designers, each year. This year, 29 CCAD students joined the competition

“This event is a terrific challenge for our students,” said Greg Thune, chair of CCAD’s Industrial Design program. “They get a firsthand experience in working under a tight deadline to be innovators among a crowd of fellow skilled, creative thinkers--and as part of a team whose members they may not have met before the Hackathon.

This is the third time CCAD students have competed in the event organized by FirstBuild, a co-creation community. This year’s participants were: Tyler Baratz (Industrial Design, 2021), Eva Brinkman-Sull (Interior Design, 2021), Cheryl Cai (Interior Design, 2021), Matthew Erdmann (Industrial Design, 2021), Lakaya Fearon (Industrial Design, 2020), Andrew Hohler (Industrial Design, 2020), Gage Holtz (Industrial Design, 2022), Aaron Jeschke (Industrial Design, 2021), Asa Jordan (Industrial Design, 2022), SooYoung Kwon (Industrial Design, 2020), Pinjie Li (Industrial Design, 2020), Ashleigh Matthis (Animation, 2022), Samantha McInteer (Industrial Design, 2022), Will Moore (Industrial Design, 2021), Omar Perez-Carrillo (Fashion Design, 2022), Jackson Pettenski (Industrial Design, 2020), Katie Price (Industrial Design, 2021), Millie Privitera (Illustration, 2021), Jessika Raisor (Animation, 2019), Grant Rowland (Industrial Design, 2020), Savanna Sheer (Illustration, 2021), Emma Stephens (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2021), Eric Tucker (Industrial Design, 2021), Grant Veneman (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2020), Elisabeth White (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2021), Allie Williams (Industrial Design, 2022), Jahliya Willis (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2020), and Jacques Zeevaart (Industrial Design, 2021).

Cover photo provided by Omar Perez-Carrillo