PAST
I have always believed that being skillful in many different areas makes me be more academically enriched, educated and a more unique and valuable designer. More specifically, both my personal and academic trajectory has been based on the interconnectedness of creativity and design combined with technical aptitudes.
For instance, in my higher level education in high school I selected a variety of subjects including Physics, Mathematics, but also Art & Design and English Literature. This combination led me to learn in depth and gain different soft skills such as a critical mindset and analysis, problem-solving and evaluation. I also learned hard skills which were very interesting to combine; writing, calculating and designing put all together, which fit perfectly with this bachelor.
Coming from another country, my determination to immerse myself and understand new cultures has broadened my eyes greatly within the world of design. Studying in a country where design is very important has also pivoted my thinking in comparison to my home country, where this bachelor is a lot less valued. By the day I am more and more accepting of my international self, and my desire for travelling for inspiration and expanding my network is growing exponentially.
During year 1, I gained insight of the different expertise areas when taking different courses, where I was able to experience, analyze and evaluate which field of design my interest lies upon. I learned about the importance of team collaboration, fundamentals of a design process, gained a solid foundation on UX/UI design, low fidelity prototyping, and understood the uses of different machines for design projects or courses.
During Year 2, I was able to consolidate the main expertise areas I was interested in; Creativity & Aesthetics and Technology & Realization. Through my choice of electives I broadened my expertise, where I set myself goals to be more proficient in specific areas such as electronics & programming, CAD modelling, and analog and visual design & graphics for user appeal. Some of my projects during these years are showcased below:
