2,893 Inspirational Passion Project Ideas
Turn inspirations into your passion project.
This collection of project ideas, shared by Polygence mentors, is meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.
- AI/ML
- Animation
- Arts
- Biology
- Biotech
- Business
- Cancer
- Chemistry
- Cognitive
- Computer Science
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Dentistry
- Economics
- Engineering
- Entomology
- Environmental Science
- Ethics
- Fashion
- Finance
- Game Design
- Healthcare
- History
- Illustration
- Languages
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Math
- Medicine
- Music
- Neuroscience
- Nutrition
- Organizational Leadership
- Philanthropy
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Physics
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Quantitative
- Social
- Social Science
- Sports Analytics
- Statistics
- Surgery
Architectural Model + Drawings
In this project, we will study the basics of 3-D design and use these to engineer a small architectural construct/model. The project will start with research into works of similar scale and program, and a discussion of design features employed. We discuss model making strategies and materials, and work on several small scale models using balsa wood and styrofoam. Once these have been discussed, students will make a final small scale model. Perspective drawings and elevations will be part of the final package.
Fashion
Fashion Collection
Develop a concept for a fashion line. Make moodboards, swatch cards, technical drawings, and fashion sketches of your finished collection.
Fashion, Illustration
Design a new building for your city!
What challenges does your city face? Housing, healthcare, gentrification, public policy, recreation, racism, education, technology, design, climate change? Many of these concerns are integrally related to architecture and can either be worsened or improved by the buildings and the infrastructure that surrounds you. In this project, you will use your own immediate surroundings as a way of investigating the unique challenges faced by your area both now and in the future. The process of identifying these problems will help improve your skills in research, critical design thinking, and futurist speculation. Perhaps most importantly, this project will force you to formulate a tight “how might we” research question that strictly defines the scope of your work and interests. This determining question will then be paired with a desired project outcome that directly addresses the question. In this second phase, your initial research will be deployed towards a specific format of outcome that will give you the opportunity to learn new hard skills such as 3d software design, Augmented reality filter creation, speculative mapping, or academic writing. For example: How might a new city bill address the effects of climate change in our downtown? Outcome: Research paper + public policy proposal How might a new STEM building in our high school improve students’ technical literacy? Outcome: Building design in 3d software How might we improve public awareness of the architectural legacies of racism in our city through social media? Outcome: Instagram AR filter How might we visualize the economic and population shifts happening in our county to better plan for new development? Outcome: Speculative Map
Fashion, Game Design
The Intersection of Fashion & History
In 2023 it seems that it would be easy to conduct research, but due to so many mislabeled and yet plentiful images across the internet stratosphere, there is a saturation of disinformation. We may think we know the styles of the 1970’s or of the 1920’s, but do we really? Can we break down and map the progression in style within a decade. Can we note the difference between the 1970’s in London or NYC versus a small town in Illinois; or between different social groups or subcultures. Costume Designers and Fashion Historians must meticulously research and distill to know exactly when a photograph was taken or to confirm the origin of a garment. Think about what you’re wearing right now. Will researchers in 2060 see a difference between your current outfit and that of someone in Beijing in 2010? Most likely! In order to do thorough research and delineate the changes and nuances in how humanity has dressed, we must have a keen eye, seek out accurate information, and we need to look beyond the internet to other sources of information. I will discuss better ways to research including tips and tricks and ways to decipher nuances in photographs and garments. That includes quality and style of clothing, fabric, fit, socio-economic influences, as well as political and war-time changes; not to mention the changing fashion of hairstyles and makeup too. I want to teach you how to really see and what real people, not just celebrities and musicians in magazines, dressed like. Lastly, I aim to help you accurately decipher and document status in dress. Whether it’s the difference between a Civil War Brigadier General and a member of the Company or an 1850’s woman of privilege versus her scullery maid you seek to find, there are many exciting nuances and vast distinctions to explore in status. As technology changes, how has fashion? Fashion history is an exciting discovery of and foray into history, they are deeply intertwined. Understanding how cultures have changed creates a better understanding of why fashion has too. It's not just about magazines and style, pretty dresses and luxurious fabrics, it's about getting a clearer picture of the people in those clothes and the environments in which they dwelled, the time in which they lived, the money they had, and the world at large. Trading, travel, the cross-pollination of cultures and the advent of various technological advances all contribute to fashion and what we wear.
Arts, History, Fashion
Trend Forecasting
We will explore 12 different avenues of fashion forecasting. Then, picking 2-3 different types of forecasting and comparing similarities in trends and how they relate to one another.
Fashion, Business
Brand Marketing Campaign
Choose a brand of your choice and come up with an overarching brand campaign that is relevant in today's society. We will explore different avenues on how to reach the customer with our campaign.
Fashion, Business
Sustainability in Fashion
Research the overarching impact that fashion has on the environment. Dive into brands who are sustainable and brands that are not. How fashion is evolving in the direction of sustainability in various aspects.
Fashion, Business
Costume Design
This project involves developing a costume design concept for theatre or film from initial concept sketches and visual research to technical drawings by hand or in Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop
Fashion, Illustration
Ecological distribution of seaweed in the surrounding area
How does the surrounding environment effect the seaweed (or macroalgae) that grows there? Is the water saltier or muddier in one area than another? Is one area more susceptible to low tides and drying out? This project would involve visiting different sites in your area (bays, tide pools, rivers, ponds), and describing the algae that grow there. You would then make note about how each environmental habitat differs, and infer how that relates to an evolutionary advantage for each species.
Fashion, Environmental Science
Self-Expression Through Artistic Means
Painting, drawing, collage, sewing, writing, weaving, crochet, rug making, furniture painting, and cooking all all things I love to do. How do and how can we express ourselves through artistic means.
Arts, History, Fashion
Upcycled Product Prototype
This project would explore sustainable manufacturing and production methods as it applies to fashion, accessories, or home goods. To start, we will discuss ideas of recycling and up-cycling as strategies for making sustainable products. Then, we will look at all the components of product design and development -- materials, supply chain, production, and construction through these sustainable lenses. Then we could formulate a method for making a new, scalable and sustainably made object/product. We will then make the product.
Fashion
Historical fashion Research
This project involves learning how to conduct research and sketch technical drawings to produce historically accurate reproductions of clothing from a particular time period (for example: Regency era, Edwardian period, 1930's, 1950's). Depending on the student's previous experience, this project could also have a sewing component.
Fashion, Illustration
Historical Fashion in Queer Victorian Times
This project seeks to uncover the stories of how queer folx dressed in Victorian times and how they expressed their identities through fashion in spite oll
Fashion
Fashion with a purpose-- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
This project would help bring awareness to climate change through fashion design. You can create fashionable items out of trash, discarded items, recyclable items, repurposed items, or anything second hand.
Fashion, Environmental Science
Costume Design Research & Sketching For Period Accuracy
With shows like The Queen's Gambit, Downton Abbey, Mad Men, The Crown, Outlander, and Stranger Things, we are given the gift of time travel. We almost feel like we are in those times with the details and idiosyncrasies some shows and movies bring to us. But how do costume designers, production designers and fashion historians do their research? How does a script or photograph translate to what goes onscreen? I want to take you on a journey into the wonderful world of historical fashion research. It's almost like being a fashion history detective. There are years of work that go into making accurate depictions of times past onscreen or on stage. It's exhaustive work, but boy, is it fun. There is a plethora of indicators and nuances within fashion history that denote status, class, change in materials, geographic location, and more. How have the lapels and trouser shape of a men's suit changed from 1850 to 1880 or the jewelry of the 1990s? Developing an eye for the vast differences in how fashion has morphed and changed with time is essential for being an altruistic designer. Whether it's nailing a time period's details you seek to learn, or sketching out an entire show, we will explore the subtle details, the hair, the ruffles, the jewelry, the shoes, the skirt lengths, and the sleeve flounce of whatever period or subculture you aim to learn about. I will discuss better ways to research, including tips and tricks and ways to decipher nuances in photographs and garments. This includes quality and style of clothing, fabric, fit, socio-economic influences, as well as political and war-time changes; not to mention the changing fashion of hairstyles and makeup too. I want to teach you how to really see and what real people, not just celebrities and musicians in magazines, dressed like. Lastly, I aim to help you accurately decipher and document status in dress. Whether it’s the difference between a Civil War Brigadier General and a member of the Company or an 1850’s woman of privilege versus her scullery maid you seek to find, there are many exciting nuances and vast distinctions to explore in status.
Arts, History, Fashion
Textile Product Design Prototype
In this project, I would help students create a new textile product prototype. This would mean researching many topics, including history, fibers and raw materials, supply chain, design processes (hand, digital, dye, recycle, etc.), technical considerations, and color application and palette of a particular product direction. Then, we would create a series of physical iterations of this product in muslin and small scale, and critique each. Finally, a full scale model with actual materials and manufacturing techniques would be made. This could apply to fashion or home goods.
Fashion