On June 16th, 2016, Design Factory Korea hosted its second annual Capstone Gala Night at D.Camp Event Hall in Gangnam, Seoul — an evening celebrating the creative achievements of Yonsei University's Techno-Art Division students and the culmination of a full semester of interdisciplinary collaboration.
At DFK, seniors from the three TAD majors — Information & Interaction Design (IID), Creative Technology Management (CTM), and Culture & Design Management (CDM) — take the Techno-Art Capstone Project course, where they conceive, develop and generate innovative services and products for user needs. Working in interdisciplinary teams of 4–6 students, each team partners with a sponsoring company to tackle a real-world challenge. Students go through four stages of product and service development: observation and conceptualization, prototyping, evaluation, and wrap-up and presentation.
The journey began in late February with a two-day Capstone Kick-Off workshop for all students and project partners. Over 16 weeks, teams worked through user research, business modeling, prototyping workshops — including 3D printing and app prototyping — and two rounds of midterm presentations, before arriving at the Gala as the final showcase of their semester's work.
The 2016 Gala featured an impressive lineup of student-led projects spanning health, lifestyle, design, and social impact:
Penguin — A community platform where people can share their stories, support and heal each other regardless of background or social position.
Poco — A curated travel-kit pouch of cosmetic samples for tourists visiting Korea, allowing them to purchase full-sized products simply by texting or calling before departure.
Spicki — A daily, emotional and tangible messenger for anyone who wants to play with recordable sound. Spicki was selected as the best Capstone Project 2015 by the audience, and won the top award at Herald Design Tech 2015.
Ticket Stalker — A green secondary ticketing market where users can exchange unused tickets safely, minimizing refund losses for sellers while protecting buyers.
Lapse — A period after opening (PAO) indicator for cosmetics, installed on the container to show elapsed time through color change.
Brelli Box — A reusable, eco-friendly solution to wet umbrellas, made from recycled materials that dry your umbrella by simply dipping and twisting it inside absorbable fabric.
Melting Cotton — A sanitary pad delivery service that aims to shift the perception of periods into a more positive and celebrated experience.
TuuTuu — An attachable toothbrush timer that plays three-minute music to encourage proper brushing habits.
Walker Holic — A health app motivating users to reach 5,000 steps daily, with rewards and social sharing features via Instagram.
Mutu — A premium on-demand umbrella customization platform where customers choose the design and functions of their umbrella.
Fume — A fragrance visualization experience that brings the notion of smell to life through color gradients that reflect fragrance notes.
BARK — An application platform providing media content to connect humans with abandoned dogs, built around the shared value of protecting dogs as our own.
Cheeze — A behavior-inducing service designed to help prevent traffic accidents related to kindergarten shuttle buses.
Doughman — A smartphone application targeting college students who need instant help and want to be a hero to those in need.
LookToon — A platform for teenagers combining the Korean trend of eoljjang culture and webtoon readership, allowing teens to express their identities through fashion and storytelling.
Memory Miner — A service and product that can record, commune and eternize precious memories.
The Gala drew approximately 90 guests, including DFK faculty, students, and 20 company officials from numerous domestic and international organizations: Allianz, Amore Pacific, Cisco, Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Pepsi, Innovation Centre Denmark, WeDesign, Apo Idea, and Herald Korea.
Now in its second year, the DFK Capstone Gala Night is becoming one of TAD's most meaningful annual events — a platform where students present innovative designs and interact directly with industry, and a testament to what passion-centered, interdisciplinary learning can produce.
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