2026 Student Award Talks
Fri, Oct 16
|Virtual Event
Our 2026 Student Award winners will present their work. We welcome Crissy Jarvis on "Designing for Sensory Joy" and Ari Doughty on "The Sounds of Colour"
Time & Location
Oct 16, 2026, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT
Virtual Event
About the event
Designing for Sensory Joy: Colour and Object Design as a Tool for Sensory Regulation in Public Space
by Crissy Jarvis, Concordia University | Graduate Award winner
Crissy Jarvis Plink Pong Trying out facial expressions Emotion Signal Light
My Master’s research investigates how design can support sensory regulation, stimulation, and joy in everyday environments, particularly for neurodivergent individuals. I’m taking a neuroaffirmative approach, recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I’m operating with the understanding that sensory difference is treated as a lived condition that design can actively engage with, not a problem to be corrected or minimized.
This project reframes sensory difference as a design condition that should inform how objects behave, feel, and invite interaction. The focus is on predictable, engaging, and self-directed sensory experiences rather than sensory avoidance, with an emphasis on colour.