Visitors and residents in Boston can now find original artwork created by local high school students permanently on display in some of the city’s most recognizable locations, including Faneuil Hall, Boston City Hall and the Johnson Community Center in Mission Hill. The custom designs appear on XLERATOR® and ThinAir® hand dryer covers as part of a collaboration between Excel Dryer, Inc., inventor of the XLERATOR high-efficiency, touchless hand dryers and CoDesign Collaborative.
Eight students from Greater Boston participated in the Summer CoDesign Student Challenge, led by Alfred Byun, Design Director at Gensler. Over the course of the program, students prototyped, designed and brought their concepts to life on an internationally recognized product. Industry leaders, including William Gagnon, executive vice president & COO at Excel Dryer, provided feedback and selected the winning design.
The winning concept, Paper Pollutes by Ariel Lin, incorporates the message “Paper pollutes. Use XLERATOR instead,” highlighting the environmental impact of paper waste and encouraging sustainable choices like hand dryers. Proven to reduce a facility’s carbon footprint by up to 88% compared to paper towels, XLERATOR also supports certifications such as LEED® and WELL through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs).
“All of the students impressed us with their creativity and ability to connect meaningful design with real-world applications,” said Gagnon. “We’re proud to give Boston the chance to see their work in such iconic spaces. It’s exciting for the students and inspiring for the community.”
Beyond the winning design, the program produced artwork ranging from space travel inspired visuals to veteran tributes. Each piece represents not only student creativity but also the power of design to shape public experiences.
The project builds on Excel Dryer’s history of partnering with youth-focused arts organizations, including its award-winning collaboration with Artists For Humanity in Boston, where teen-created artwork was featured on custom-designed hand dryers in a LEED Platinum-certified building.
This initiative reflects Excel Dryer’s commitment to sustainability, health and wellness and cultivating the next generation of creative leaders while demonstrating how partnerships can inspire lasting change across communities.
