Business & Entrepreneurship.
Business & Entrepreneurship consists in positioning a design within its commercial, economic, and strategic context, understanding markets, stakeholders, and value propositions to ensure a concept is innovative and viable. While not intended as my primary focus, I now recognise its crucial role in the design process, and the importance of having background competency.
To improve my knowledge gap from Year 1, I chose ‘Trends and Forecasting’ in Year 2. I learned how trend-catching is less about statistics and more about proactive networking, inspiration, and historical context. My lecturer's words ‘to know the future, one must know the past’ shifted my perspective on how crucial design history is to understanding what the future of design awaits.
In ‘Business Innovation Methods’ analysing Sephora through business frameworks led my team to develop a personalised experience using an AI-powered smart mirror to scan facial features and recommend products. I valued this course so much that I became a student tutor for it in Year 3, an experience that further developed my skills in presenting, public speaking, and giving critical and constructive feedback, but I was also able to have in-depth discussions with teams revolving applied business frameworks in corporate companies.
My B3.1 internship was one of my biggest learning developments. Integrated into weekly meetings, kick-offs, and project management discussions. I gained insight into a company's workflow, client communication, regulations, marketing strategies, and supply chain management. This revealed significant differences between university and workplace practice.
