Small Things Matter, a third-year product design studio, was a collaborative project between Parsons product design junions and the Brooklyn-based gift brand Areaware. In this studio, students were challenged to design, prototype and package an inexpensive  point-of-purchase gift item. The product had to be conceptually tied to a set of international charity organizations, with each sale directly benefitting that charity. The studio was run as a design competition, with the winning entry going into production and the designer receiving a $1K cash advance on royalties. 2nd and 3rd prizes receive $500 cash. All student projects were recently exhibited at Wanted Design, as part of NYC x Design 2014.  The studio also maintained a Small Things Matter blog over the course of the semester, documenting student work.

The winning entries are:

1st: Carlos Ng, Little Architects Tool Set

2nd: Whan Choi. Night Guardian night light

3rd place (tied): Aikita Sen, Critter Clips and  Sam Falco, Bottle Axe