Like many people across the world, Dana Deggs was horrified as news came out on the Parkland, Fla., high school mass shooting in February.
For Deggs, this particular incident hit uncomfortably close to home. Although she has lived in Milwaukee in recent years, the artist and innovator hails from Miami — not far from this winter’s Parkland massacre.
Deggs, who graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) in May, decided to use a culminating class project as an opportunity to intermingle several disparate concepts — innovation, a social cause and art — and bring to the marketplace a new product.
The end result: a Kevlar tent branded as Defilade. While it could serve as a life-saving instrument in a variety of different scenarios, Deggs said the innovation was birthed from an idea of seeking solutions to the gun violence debate that has gripped the nation in recent years.
“I want to make a difference,” said Deggs, who graduated from MIAD with a degree in industrial design.
A product such as Defilade had been percolating in Deggs’ mind for a while, she said, but a confluence of factors — including the Parkland shooting — brought concept to reality.
“It’s one of those things I had been thinking about, but I kept shying away from it,” Deggs said. “Now that it’s out there, I’m really proud of it, and I think I can really help people.”
Defilade served as Deggs’ senior project at MIAD. Upon completion, the innovation was displayed at the school through the higher-education institution’s 2018 senior gallery exhibition.
Because of its inherent purpose, Deggs said Defilade was created with portability in mind. In its prototype format, the innovation features multiple layers and has the ability to fold into a backpack.
“I wanted it to be something that was quick and easy to use,” Deggs said of the inspiration behind the design. “It can deploy in two-and-a-half seconds, which is important because every second can count in a crisis.”
While portability is an important component of Defilade, so, too, is how it is made. The material, Deggs said, is designed to withstand gunfire from small caliber handguns and other possible threats, including knife penetrations.
Throughout the innovation phase, Deggs said she researched options extensively and studied how the military and law enforcement protect themselves in crisis situations. Along the way, Deggs said the product has been tested in various mock situations.
While further refinements are likely ahead, Deggs said she has received positive feedback thus far. During gallery night outings at MIAD, Deggs said she had conversations with multiple educators.
“Every single teacher I talked to said something like, ‘It’s a shame we have to think about this, but it’s good to have something like this,’” Deggs said. “It’s obviously something that’s needed.”
While the future of Defilade is still unknown, Deggs said she hopes to take her innovation to the marketplace with her MIAD degree in hand. Plans call for creating a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funding for additional development.
“I’d like to take this further,” Deggs said. “I’m refining the details right now and getting into testing.”
