To look at our class of 22 Masters of Industrial Design (M.I.D.) degree candidates who will graduate from Pratt Institute this May, one would see a collage of designers from a large span of backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets. Pratt's selection process for students has traditionally resulted in this type of eclectic student grouping, ultimately creating a learning environment inundated with endless different views, opinions and design strategies.

Material from Lauren Currier, Nadine Foik and Pachara Kangchirdsri's "Ageless"

Over the course of three years, we have swam upstream towards a main objective: become an "industrial designer." We quickly realized, somewhere along that path, that this particular profession is difficult to define. So, we embraced our dissimilarities and used them as starting points until we each ultimately forged by our own path. Often the results more closely resemble fields other than the one that will be written on our diploma.

This year, our M.I.D. graduating class of 2015 thesis exhibition Fake ID is showcasing this expanding discourse. Acknowledging that many parts of our theses may not reflect "true industrial design," Fake ID plays off of the notion that we as designers intend to sneak into this world using any means necessary, even if it is borrowed, bought, or stolen from other fields.

Detail shot of "Floor Pillows" by Desiree Guedez

The exhibition will showcase these connections through pieces and ideas that live on the boundary between the direct field of study and those that are on the periphery. From collaborations with architecture and wearable technology, to other pursuits within agriculture, food, information and graphic design, community building, and self-reflection: we seek to expand industrial design to as far as it can reach, all in the pursuit of better understanding people, things, and the infinite relationships that can exist between them.

Essay by Keith Holser and Megan Czaja for Pratt Institute M.I.D. Class of 2015.

"More Sky" by Aldana Ferrer Garcia

"Living in an apartment building, there's always a disconnect with nature, the elements or the sky." Aldana Ferrer Garcia's "More Sky" project is a retrofit window system, part pop-up sunroom on a facade part temporary microspace to enjoy the elements. 

"Movement" by Keith Kirkland

"Designed to Grow" by Samantha Katehis

Samantha Katehis' "Designed to Grow" project consists of a 20-page activity book, hydroponic kit and a plant canister to educate children on how their food is grown, processed and sustained. The project, "focuses on products that are meant to empower healther choices, create a basic understanding of local and micro agriculture," explained Katehis, "and foster a new relationship with fruits, vegetables and sustainability."

"Oblio Stool" by Meg Czaja

Inspired by those who need to fidget in order to think, this stool is made with motion in mind. Meg Czaja's maple wood stool is like a balance ball gone Scandinavian. The rubber sphere utilizes a semi-rigid foam interior.

"Tesselate" by Sebastian Jacobo

Tesselate is a "smart fabric" that contracts and expands in response to light. As the designer Sebastian Jacobo explained:

The photosensors are programmed so that they activate a motor located at the base of the system which pulls the fabric up and down according to how much light is sensed. The result is a surface that can flatten and disappear but also transform into a geometric form.

Paho table by Keith Holser

The cement Paho table utilizes a soft mold of wood shavings to "capture the moment of its birth" as the cement is poured into the mold.

Fake ID will take place at Pratt Institute's Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator (BF+DA), located at 630 Flushing Avenue, 7th Floor, in Brooklyn (entrance via Tompkins Avenue). Thesis presentations will be held on Wednesday, April 29 and Thursday, April 30 from 1 to 6 PM with exhibition views to follow. A free public reception will be held from 6-9 PM on Thursday, April 30. A live stream will also available for those who cannot attend. For more information visit www.prattfakeid.com.