Senior Exhibition 2023: Dominick Streff

Reimagining the possibilities of tabletop gaming, Dominick Streff ’23 (Product Design) is working to revolutionize board game accessibility in his senior thesis, a board game called “Heroes and Hydras.” A tactile and auditory experience designed for people with vision impairment, Streff conducted extensive research and synthesized his findings into a sensory tabletop game.

“Often, we think people who are blind have been blind their whole lives,” explains Streff. In reality, many adults develop vision impairment later in life. “What’s difficult is these people have to adjust to their new life being vision impaired,” he continues. As part of his research, Streff reached out to Milwaukee’s Center for Deaf-Blind Persons to find people to test his game and to speak with a rehabilitation specialist. Streff discovered that learning through games and play is a great way for many people with vision impairment to learn and adapt to their new environment.

After many iterations, including tactile Tic Tac Toe, Streff settled on a Dungeons and Dragons-esque adventure game. “That was where the research went – creating a bunch of different mock-ups and prototypes, trying many different things to see what works and what doesn’t,” says Streff. He cold-called potential users to test his creations and incorporated their feedback to hone “Heroes and Hydras” into its final version.

As a child, Streff loved both drawing comics and inventing things. He was elated to discover product design, a blend of art and engineering, during his high school career. “It was a delight when I was walking through the halls at MIAD,” he says about his first tour of the college. “I really liked that interaction with the students and that positivity of what this major and profession are. I really felt at home.” From extracurricular toy-making competitions to professional and corporate class projects, Streff has honed his interest and skill in product design over his four years at MIAD. After graduation, he will intern with a display and exhibition consultancy to create innovative displays for companies.

“It was quite an experience seeing how MIAD is handling the response to the pandemic, especially with the development of new majors like the Fashion and Apparel Design major and Animation track,” Streff continues. “I’m really excited to see what the new students of MIAD are going to bring.”

Keep up with Dominick on his website and view “Heroes and Hydras,” along with the thesis projects of Dominick’s talented Product Design peers, at MIAD’s 2023 Senior Exhibition from April 21 – May 6.