Industrial design student Adam Westfall recently attended the Winter Outdoor Retail Market in Denver, Colorado Nov. 8–11. The Appalachian State University senior from Birmingham, Alabama was excited to attend this event because of the opportunities it provided in seeing the “latest and greatest in technical outdoors gear.”
According the Outdoor Retailer’s website, the market is the “world’s leading business-to-business outdoor sports show where industry brands, retailers, reps, suppliers, and leaders gather.”
Westfall is interested in designing outdoor and extreme sports equipment after college, and was thrilled to network with design professionals in the field.
“The event housed hundreds of brands, all showing off their latest products. They displayed everything from Taiwanese textiles to full blown alpine climbing equipment,” Westfall said. “We explored the booths, spoke with companies about their design process, and attended a talk on prototyping processes.”
Westfall is passionate about both downhill skateboarding and rock climbing, so when Applied Design Department Chair Brian Davies suggested that he attend the event as part of his capstone project, Westfall jumped at the chance.
“I’d like to improve gear for camping, climbing, skateboarding, snowboarding, or any activity in that realm,” Westfall explained. “I want to stay involved with the things I am passionate about.”
by Caroline Lubinsky
About the Department of Applied Design
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department Applied Design at Appalachian State University fosters excellence in design education, design research and professional placement. The department balances theoretical and pragmatic approaches while exploring an awareness of impact through design decisions on the global community. Faculty focus on a holistic approach to creative problem-solving by integrating sustainability and ethical responsibility in teaching and practice. The department offers bachelor’s degrees in apparel design and merchandising, industrial design and interior design.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
Students at the Outdoor Retail Market
Senior industrial design student Adam Westfall (standing third from right), attended the Outdoor Retail Market in Denver, Colorado as part of his capstone course. Photo submitted