Design and Innovation Consultancy Continuum Joins Forces with PBS' Popular New Kids Reality Competition Show 'DESIGN SQUAD'

Design and Innovation Consultancy Continuum Joins Forces with PBS' Popular New Kids Reality Competition Show 'DESIGN SQUAD'

Show entertains and educates as a means to entice pre-teens to explore careers in engineering and design

BOSTON, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- This spring, WGBH Boston launched DESIGN SQUAD, a new reality competition show airing on PBS. The series, which immerses two teams of energetic and sharp high school students into the world of engineering and design, concluded its first season on location at award-winning design and innovation consultancy Continuum.

In the finale, the stakes were high, as the two teams of four young designers spent three days in Continuum's newly renovated studio outside Boston utilizing their open studio space, various design resources and machine shop to create a summer sled for venerable retail giant (and actual Continuum client) L.L. Bean. This episode also reveals the winner of DESIGN SQUAD's first season, who receives the grand prize -- a generous scholarship from the Intel Foundation.

Continuum's designers coached, cajoled and cheered on contestants throughout the three-day shoot. Chris Hosmer, design strategist and Michel Arney, principal industrial designer, participated on air in the finale, using their real life experience designing for L.L. Bean to motivate and inspire the budding designers.

Model Shop Manager Richard Ciccarelli helped contestants navigate the model shop by introducing both teams to sophisticated (and fun!) modeling techniques like computer controlled milling and vacuum forming, both of which were used to construct the wheels for the teams' sleds.

Contestants closely mimicked Continuum's design process of thorough researching and brainstorming, concept exploration, prototyping and exhaustive testing. To help contestants engage in as authentic a process as possible, Continuum's model shop created a 20 foot grass hill inside Continuum's studio, complete with real grass and a foam filled crash pit.

The "Winner Takes All" episode begins airing nationwide May 16th. The finale airs in Washington DC on June 14th, New York City on June 24th, in Chicago on June 30th, in LA on July 1st, and in Boston on July 7th.

Check local listings or see the URL below for other nationwide air dates and exact times.

http://pbskids.org/tvschedules/airdates.html?title_id=DESQ

More on the aim of DESIGN SQUAD:

Designers and engineers have led a creative and technological revolution that has improved the quality of our lives, yet kids and adults alike do not fully understand the technology and design concepts that benefit their daily lives, the engineer's role in society or even the exact nature of a designer's job.

DESIGN SQUAD presents viewers with positive role models like those at Continuum, communicating and promoting engineering and design to the public as a fun and engaging process.

DESIGN SQUAD is one of the few places on TV where kids can learn about these careers, and the series is an integral part of a national educational outreach initiative to spark viewers' interest into pursuing engineering as a career.

About Continuum:

Continuum is a design and innovation consultancy that helps turn ideas into realities. Through exhaustive investigation and user research, Continuum undertakes a deeply immersive role in a client's business to formulate design and brand strategies that are both fiscally sound and consumer relevant. Since 1983, Continuum has created meaningful design for companies worldwide including American Express, Andersen Windows, Procter and Gamble, BMW, Master Lock, Moen, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson. Continuum has offices in Boston, Milan and Seoul.

http://www.dcontinuum.com/

PBS

http://www.pbs.org/http://pbskids.org/designsquad/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Continuum

CONTACT: Kerry Emberley of Continuum, +1-617-928-9582,
kemberley@dcontinuum.com

Web site:

http://www.dcontinuum.com/
http://pbskids.org/tvschedules/airdates.html?title_id=DESQ
http://www.pbs.org/
http://pbskids.org/designsquad

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