Kendall College student design project goes directly from classroom into production

To use a sports metaphor, Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD) senior Brooke Ruble 'hit it out of the park.'

As a project in her footwear design class, Ruble created and presented her vision of a new footwear collection to a design team from Wolverine Worldwide's Patagonia brand. The result: an offer to put her designs into production.

Ruble says the presentation was a terrific experience. "It surprised me. They all were really receptive. It is very nice to get positive feedback from others in the industry. That class in particular pushed everyone outside of their comfort zone," says Ruble.

In their design programs, KCAD frequently uses industry professionals to critique student work and give students a unique learning experience that develops their talent. However, it is very rare that a class project morphs so quickly into actual production.

According to Kendall officials, the team from Patagonia was stunned by the quality of the presentation, and Les Horne, a senior product manager at Patagonia, said that this was the first time in his 25-plus years that a students design had so much impact and was moved into production.

Ruble says the experience with Patagonia went well beyond a typical classroom project.  "It has a lot of value. The  biggest positive lesson was understanding you might not always know what you are doing. There were times in the class I was thinking 'I can't do it' but I kept pushing."

Besides preparing for graduation in 2014, Ruble hones her design and entrepreneurial skills with her business Woosah Outfitters, an art and apparel brand.

To learn more Kendall College and their design program you can visit their site here.

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor