“I reward daring,” says Industrial Design professor Jay Baldwin. “In my Pre-College class, you can get an A for something that flops as long as you know why it flopped.”

The CCA student body always looks a bit younger in July. For four weeks each summer, high school students from around the world (really!) descend gracefully onto our campuses to participate in college-level studio intensives through the Pre-College Program.

The idea is to think critically, learn new skills and kick-start a bold creative process. It's usually a bonding experience, too. “Our [Industrial Design] class became a little family,” says Lena Asai, a Pre-College student from Tokyo, Japan.

When Lena’s plan to build a fan from an old bike wheel didn’t work, Jay encouraged her to try something entirely different. Armed with LED lights, dental floss, and the original bike wheel, Lena reworked her fan concept into a lamp design.

Once the lamp was installed, Lena discovered a bit of jostling would cause the piece to throw cascading geometric shadows onto the ceiling. The class loved it. “That’s what serendipity design is!” exclaimed Jay. “And next time, I bet you can get those shadows on the floor.”

These guys are going to have good portfolios. Many thanks to Jay’s class for letting me snoop!

See the slideshow for footwear design from this summer's Industrial Design Pre-College students, and read more about CCA's Pre-College Program.