Below is a brief essay reflecting upon my passion for design upon entering college. It addresses both the development of my passion and future implications.
Design is such a broad field that it can often appear muddled. I prefer to view it though a simple lens: creation to facilitate the interaction of people. While the design fields do break off into their defined fields, they are wholly unified by their base in creation and an understanding of human behavior. The only separating factors for design is the medium for expression. Industrial design uses hard materials whereas fashion utilizes soft materials such as fabric. While urban planners can define the overall placement of city elements, it is up to an interior designer to look inside those elements and guide how people interact with these spaces. On the surface, design appears to focus purely on aesthetics, but the field is also deeply rooted in analysis and function. Without the interplay of these three components, design could not be successful.
Design has been an undercurrent to many of my passions, and it is only recently that I have discovered its overarching presence in my life. As a child, I loved to build. With disregard for the instruction booklets, I would charge straight ahead, attempting to recreate whatever the kits proposed. In high school, engineering classes gave me the chance to invent, while physics and economics gave me the opportunity to visualize and deconstruct data. I am also an actor, and in learning to develop a character, I have garnered a desire to understand the driving force behind people’s actions. Ultimately, this amalgamation of creation, visual analysis, and human interpretation led me to industrial design. Within this passion, I can find my career.
The next step is to allow my passion for design to grow. Majoring in industrial design was a step in the right direction, as I have loved my classes so far. I’d like to continue pursuing design by tying it into my other goals. I have a yearning to go abroad multiple times throughout my years at the University of Cincinnati. I fully intend to co-op abroad in Spain and possibly in China. A design job abroad would truly challenge my abilities as a designer, forcing me to readjust and create for a culture with different social norms. As a designer, I truly enjoy design focused media. In fact, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine to watch documentaries on visual culture. By entrenching myself in design culture, I can learn from a variety of past solutions. However, I am still primed to find inspiration from the interplay of a range of design professions. While I have chosen to focus on industrial design, I am still interested in how that intersects with urban planning, architecture, and fashion. Yet, there is still more to be said on influences outside of the design microcosm. In my philosophy course, I am constantly noting crossover material from drawing class. One of my role models, Joi Ito, is noted for describing himself as an antidisciplinarian. He believes that solutions should not be bound by profession, but rather driven by the pursuit for tangible change. I find this approach to be compelling. During my time at UC, I must be mindful to not fear daunting courses, but rather embrace them, and cultivate a mental encyclopedia for approaching design problems. I view my education in industrial design as a simple springboard for an indiscernible future.
Design has been an undercurrent to many of my passions, and it is only recently that I have discovered its overarching presence in my life. As a child, I loved to build. With disregard for the instruction booklets, I would charge straight ahead, attempting to recreate whatever the kits proposed. In high school, engineering classes gave me the chance to invent, while physics and economics gave me the opportunity to visualize and deconstruct data. I am also an actor, and in learning to develop a character, I have garnered a desire to understand the driving force behind people’s actions. Ultimately, this amalgamation of creation, visual analysis, and human interpretation led me to industrial design. Within this passion, I can find my career.
The next step is to allow my passion for design to grow. Majoring in industrial design was a step in the right direction, as I have loved my classes so far. I’d like to continue pursuing design by tying it into my other goals. I have a yearning to go abroad multiple times throughout my years at the University of Cincinnati. I fully intend to co-op abroad in Spain and possibly in China. A design job abroad would truly challenge my abilities as a designer, forcing me to readjust and create for a culture with different social norms. As a designer, I truly enjoy design focused media. In fact, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine to watch documentaries on visual culture. By entrenching myself in design culture, I can learn from a variety of past solutions. However, I am still primed to find inspiration from the interplay of a range of design professions. While I have chosen to focus on industrial design, I am still interested in how that intersects with urban planning, architecture, and fashion. Yet, there is still more to be said on influences outside of the design microcosm. In my philosophy course, I am constantly noting crossover material from drawing class. One of my role models, Joi Ito, is noted for describing himself as an antidisciplinarian. He believes that solutions should not be bound by profession, but rather driven by the pursuit for tangible change. I find this approach to be compelling. During my time at UC, I must be mindful to not fear daunting courses, but rather embrace them, and cultivate a mental encyclopedia for approaching design problems. I view my education in industrial design as a simple springboard for an indiscernible future.
passions.docx | |
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