Out of Bounds, Venturing Design Dialectics for the Intrepid Among Us

By Heidi Newell

My thesis, titled Out of Bounds, Venturing Design Dialectics for the Intrepid Among Us, is about a design search for enlightened combinations of hardware and clothing for ski mountaineers. Sparked by the tragic ski accident of Pratt professor Brent Porter’s daughter Christina, my thesis illuminates ski mountaineering as a timeless discipline on the cusp of a popular revolution, and invites new perspectives on hard and soft prototypes, as well as consideration in how we design for compliance. Liberated by the diversity in textiles, I designed with the motivation to communicate, lighten and preserve the ski mountaineer’s passionate, complex and sacred desires in seeking wilderness. Special thanks to my mom, for making the wilderness accessible, to my dad and grandpa, for inspiring the respect of materials, to Andrew Mclean - lord-god-king-bufu of off-piste, and most especially to James, for selflessly sponsoring the revolution and patiently playing witness to each battle.

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