Student Designs ‘Purrch’ to Enhance Cat-Owner Connection

Allison Connolly is a 2024 graduate of Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Industrial Design program who is now working as an exhibit designer for Elevation3D. She recently spoke with us about a product that she developed as a student that proves that with the right classes and catitude, anything is pawsible. 

What’s the project about? 

I looked at cat ownership, and more specifically the stigmas around cats that society seems to have. And this stems from a lack of understanding and trust between cats and their owners. So, I built Purrch, which is a space that converges the common spaces of cats and owners to encourage them to spend time together in order to build that trust and understanding.

Essentially, it's a little couch kind of perch. It has removable upholstery. The upholstery is all velvet, which doesn't have loops in it, so the cats aren't able to scratch the velvet part. There are also scratch pads that come off. If they get torn up, they can be replaced. There’s anti-slip trays that help prevent the cat from pulling things off the table. 

And then I have this kind of movable condo that you can use to play with your cat from the top using a magnetic toy. It’s built out with some fun features to be in your space.

What was the inspiration behind this?

Well, I love cats, obviously. Cats can provide a lower risk of heart disease. They lower stress, lower blood pressure. All those things are just kind of reasons I feel like people should have fulfilling bonds with a cat to try and help eliminate those stigmas that cats are not friendly or that you can't create bonds with them.

Can you talk more about your cats?

I have two. Zippy. She loves to go outside and hunt, and she's very instinctual. And then I have Daisy, who is very skittish. Even just hearing the camera click, she’s like, nope. But she's very sweet.

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Where did you do your co-ops?

I did one co-op at Inspire Brands, which owns Dunkin Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. And I was on their concept design team. It was a pretty small team, but I worked on some different things. I worked on the interior of Buffalo Wild Wings. I made a new Buffalo wall-mounted head instead of the taxidermy. So that was a fun co-op.

And then I did two co-ops at Elevation3D. I designed smaller exhibition booths to start on. In my first co-op I did some 10x10, 10x20 booths for different shows and then expanded the scope with my second co-op as well. 

What's your favorite thing about the Industrial Design program at Wentworth?

The fact that we learn such a wide range of skills. You learn so many skills that you then have in your pocket to move forward with. I liked the range that I found throughout the curriculum of Industrial Design.