About

Growing up in a city like Detroit which has gone through major redevelopments, both in terms of governance and physical landscape, has shown me the importance of creating products for the community, with the community. As an industrial designer, my work focuses on solving omnipresent problems that have become almost transparent for that community and others. Positive friction in our daily activities leads us to reflect on our decisions and how they benefit or detract from our ideal form of living. Negative friction takes our attention and time away from what we feel is our priority to complete and engage with. My goal is to balance both positive and negative friction by creating products that amplify times when we should make conscious decisions and draw our attention away from tasks that can be performed easily and efficiently.

From a bed-making tool to a serene tea-inspired watch, I visualize products that address problems affecting us now, like aging in place and products that will impact our state of mind for future generations, like Genzen, with a cradle-to-cradle life cycle that ideally creates zero waste and zero trash. By involving local community members in the research, brainstorming, and feedback phase of product development through interviews, ideation sessions, and continuous product testing, I ensure that the product not only addresses the initial problem it was created for but it doesn’t create any additional negative friction in other situations. As I continue designing consumer goods in the future, I work to ensure that the experience of using those products is both delightful and positive from their creation to their disposal.

-Whitney Janae Noelle Brooks