BP: If You Build It

I look at the projects that Studio H completed as a form of advocacy because all of the projects the class completed benefited the community of Bertie, North Carolina and brought them closer together. Before the birth of Studio H, the inhabitants, especially the students wanted to leave at the first available opportunity. The projects that the students created changed this mindset and made the citizens want to stay. The cornhole boards introduced the town to a fun new game, the chicken coops made raising livestock better and the farmers market allowed the community to come together as one and to help each other.

It is important to think of design as a form of advocacy because designers are supposed to create designs that make life easier. Also, when design is a form of advocacy it allows the designers to know that their hard work and dedication do indeed benefit the lives of others. Design as form of advocacy can only be successful when the designer pays attention to what those around them need and build off of that. The children of Studio H took a step back and looked at what the community needed and what would make it better. All the projects they created made the community happy and brought them all together. It transformed the community to a place that the citizens wanted to leave to a place where they can live happy, successful lives.

When a design makes those around the designer happy and successful, that is when you know that design as a form of advocacy is successful. The citizens all benefited and were made happy again thanks to Studio H and that is how I knew that design advocacy was successful in the town of Bertie, North Carolina.

BP: Designer Profiles 11/12

Designer Profile 11: Rebekah Radtke

Place of Employment:

            Rebekah is currently an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky.

Biography:

            Rebekah has been teaching for five years. She originally wanted to become an artist. She also wanted to attend Transylvania or Centre College but she decided to attend the University of Kentucky because both Transylvania and Centre cost too much money. She decided to take an architecture class but she then fell in love with architecture. She completed her interior design program at the University of Kentucky and wanted to become a lighting or product designer. Originally she was all set to go to grad school to become a product designer but instead was enrolled into an architecture program due to a mistake by the college. She enrolled into the Art Institute of Chicago.

            She then moved back to Lexington in 2011 to become an assistant professor. She did not always plan on becoming an interior designer but that is how things worked out. She likes interior design because it is all about the people and their needs.

Current Position in Design:

            Rebekah visited Brazil to work on community design projects. She assisted the displaced population due to the Olympics.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Rebekah believes that we are the future of design. She believes that no one is ever supposed to be a designer but it works out that way. She believes that we need people who are not designers but at the same time have knowledge of design.

Designer Profile 12: Anne Filson

Place of Employment:

            Anne teaches at the University of Kentucky in the school of architecture.

Biography:

            Anne currently works with architecture. She was not an architecture major during her undergraduate career but she was an art history major. She got her master’s degree in a New York architecture school.

Current Position in Design:

            Anne has worked in various places for various people such as Rem Koolhass in Seattle. She has been involved with the new Dutch Embassy in Berlin. She also worked on a new campus center for IIT in Chicago. She led the team and supervised a team of consultants, suppliers and contractors.

            She also has worked for a company known as Ideo which is a multidisciplinary agency. This company was working on making design better and overall easy to use. She was in charge of finding problems and developing solutions.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Anne believes that design is going to be completed by machines in the future. These CNC machines are taking over and the method is becoming more robust and is also great for the economy as well as the consumer. 

BP: Design Autobiography

 

BP: Designer Profiles 9/10

Designer Profile 9: Adriane Grumbien

Place of Employment:

            Adriane currently teaches at the University of Kentucky in the Grehan Journalism Building.

Biography:

            Adriane came into undergrad as an art major, but she was afraid of failing college because she was not very artistic. She then changed her major to strategic communication college in the Grehan Journalism Building. She believes that design is fun and a break from the usual way of thinking.

Current Position in Design:

            Adriane currently works for the Institute of Public Relations and she creates fliers for them. She also creates wedding invitations. She points out that design does not have a distinct style and that design all depends on the needs of the client.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Adriane believes that design is heading to the way of infographics and as well as using photos to illustrate ideas. Design is transforming big data into easy to read, simple illustrations that attract the viewer instead of overwhelming them. She thinks social media is an excellent way to share data and infographics.

Designer Profile 10: Julie Sniadowski

Place of Employment:

            Julie is currently a graduate student in the architecture program at the University of Kentucky.

 

Biography:

            She has completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky. She began school at the University of Kentucky in the Fall of 2011. She took several painting classes since she was a child.

Current Position in Design:

            She currently works with models to see how they interact with light and space. She loves being hands on with design. She has created blue prints of a cabin in the woods, a beach project and also a mask as a method for exploring space. She also created a downtown project at places of worship to combine them with places to pay respect for those who have passed away.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Julie believes that design is becoming more collaborated with other fields such as engineering. She also believes that design will utilize more digital methods to solve problems.

            

BP: Designer Profiles 7/8

Designer Profile 7: Melody Jackson

Place of Employment:

            Melody is currently working as an architect for various companies and is also a Professor for the College of Design here at the University of Kentucky.

Biography:

            During her time in high school Melody wanted to be a Physician as well as one day become an Astronaut. She loves space because of the sense of discovery that space offers. During her early years at the University of Kentucky she enrolled in several pre-med classes but became inspired by the famous Leonardo Davinci. She then transferred to the school of Architecture. She attended Graduate School at Cornell. After Graduate school she began her career of painting using forms of collage with hidden messages. She manifested time as well as space in her paintings.  

Current Position in Design:

            Melody was the Art Director for the World Equestrian Games in 2010. She has also painted several of her designs onto barrels of whisky. She has also worked on a top secret project for NASA. She has designed a thirty-acre park as well as portions of a trade show in Las Vegas. She is currently working on the design for the new Bluegrass Stock Yards. She has also a more personal side of design.

            She has designed her own house as well as annual mixtapes for her children birthdays.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Melody believes that the future of design will be completed through the means of virtual reality. She believes that design can be illustrated through hand drawings, computer renderings as well virtual reality.

Designer Profile 8: Lindsey Fay

Place of Employment:

            Lindsey currently works in the School of Interiors here at the University of Kentucky.

Biography:

            Lindsey hails from Pennsylvania. She has had an interest in design and art since the second grade. She created an indoor/outdoor ski resort while she was in middle school. She attended undergraduate school at the University of Kentucky. She came to the University of Kentucky originally wanting to study dietetics and nutrition. She then changed her major to interior design because it was her passion and she felt at home in this field. She attended graduate school at the University of Cincinnati.

Current Position in Design:

            Lindsey has practiced design at Lake Tahoe for five years. She participates in what she titles a Post Occupancy Evaluation which consists of going into a building six months after it is completed to learn how the building supports the inhabitants. An example of this would be the new University of Kentucky Hospital. The main concept of a Post Occupancy Evaluation is to determine if the design of a building functions efficiently and if it does then designers need to continue to replicate that design. If the design of the building does not function efficiently then designers need to avoid using that design again.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Lindsey believes that the future of design will be leaning toward social responsibility when looking at design. An example of this would be the Tom’s shoes.

BP: Designer Profiles 5/6

Designer Profile 5: Ryan Hargrove

Place of Employment:

            Mr. Hargrove currently works in the department of landscape here at the University of Kentucky. He is in his eighth year of teaching here at the University of Kentucky.

Biography:

            Mr. Hargrove’s interest in design began at a young age. His parents played a huge role in his interest in design. His mom is an art teacher and she told him to “make the familiar strange and the strange familiar”. His dad is a shop teacher and he told him to “question everything”. He attended undergraduate school here at the University of Kentucky.

            Mr. Hargrove was undecided during his first semester, but he then met with an instructor in the Reynolds where he discovered landscape architecture. He is extremely passionate about helping others reach their goal.

Current Position in Design:

            Mr. Hargrove highlighted three issues that he has noticed with design today. These issues are social equality, county level and ecology.

He explained social equality as essentially looking at the area in question and discussing how that area could be improved such as the use of land, the condition of sidewalks, and occupancy. He collaborated with the community while working on a project titled Project R Squared. He identified five categories that he utilizes when determining whether or not and how to improve design. These categories are shop, play, live, grow, and connect. Mr. Hargrove also explained that public opinion is very important.

He explained county level as helping to properly plan for the future. He also pointed out that visual learning is the best way to approach gathering public support for an idea because it resonates with the people.

He explained Ecology by discussing a project titled Project Honey. This project allowed for designers to create pollinator parks which increased the population of honey bees. The creation of these parks would be good for the environment, they would benefit the population of honey bees and they would also educate children.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Mr. Hargrove believes that designers are uniquely positioned to solve the most critical problems. He believes that design is a way of life, a full time job and needs to be passed on to future generations He utilizes creative study tours to develop leadership roles and empower others to take action.

Designer Profile 6: Sarah Daley

Place of Employment:

            Ms. Daley is currently working alongside a nonprofit park group as an interpretive designer. She has only been in this field/in her current position for three weeks. She works alongside park rangers who are the interpreters within a park.

Biography:

            Ms. Daley studied here at the University of Kentucky with a major in Architecture and a minor in Anthropology. She graduated in 2015.

Current Position in Design:

            As stated previously, Ms. Daley is an interpretive designer for a nonprofit park group. The job of an interpretive designer is to collect all possible information about their surroundings such as animals, plants, and geology. Once they have all the information they need, interpretive designers compile this information and then decide how to present it to the public who visits the park. Ms. Daley believes that design benefits all fields and is especially useful when conveying and developing a solution.

Speculation about where design will be heading:

            Ms. Daley believes that technology and design are interesting partners. She believes that web design will be a big part of the future of design. As for her future in design, she hopes to become a museum curator because that career combines both design and anthropology.

BP: Designer Profiles 3+4

Designer Profile 3: Scarlett Wesley

Place of Employment

Scarlett is currently employed at the University of Kentucky in Erikson Hall. She specializes in retailing and tourism management. She is also the director of graduate studies here at the University of Kentucky

Biography

Scarlett attended undergraduate school and graduated with a major in marketing. She has also attended graduate school with a focus in retail and consumer science. She was a teaching assistant and loved working with students.

She has worked with the Lego corporation at the North American corporate office. While working at Lego she witnessed a competition within the company. The competition was designed to promote sales of Lego toys to young girls. A factory employee won the competition and Scarlett learned that everyone in a company can have a great role in the success of a company.

She also taught at the University of South Carolina for six years. Some of her early efforts in design took place in Connecticut while she worked in allocation and planning. She worked in a toy department. She looks at jobs not as a final destination, but as a learning experience to better herself.

Current Position in Design

As stated previously, Scarlett currently works at the University of Kentucky. She teaches her students how to take a product from start to finish and how to make consumers buy a product. She points out the significance of color as well as that color is influential to consumers in guiding them to make a purchase. She works with brands that are influential to the United States as well as the World.

She also has her students design plaid that will be entered into a competition to be the next official plaid of the University of Kentucky. Whichever plaid design wins the contest is sold in the bookstore as well as other local stores. The revenue from this plaid design goes to education abroad scholarships.

            Speculation about where design will be heading

Scarlett believes that design is leading more to a “buy it now” concept. Concepts of product design is known to the consumer around six months in advance. Consumers are not able to buy the product yet. She also mentions the concept of fast fashion. The wait time from an idea to the final physical product is cut down significantly. This increases the need for domestic production because of the elimination of import time.

Designer Profile 4: Ebrahim Poustinchi

            Place of Employment

Just like Scarlett Wesley, Ebrahim currently works at the University of Kentucky. He works in the School of Interiors. Unlike conventional designers, he relies heavily on computers to create concepts of his designs.

            Biography

Ebrahim has acquired his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Iran. He spent his time post-graduation at UCLA practicing robotic design. After he graduated from UCLA he immediately began to teach. He utilizes both the conventional form of design as well as graphic design to create his final product of design.

             Current Position in Design

Ebrahim currently practices with the design of robotics. One of the main projects that he has worked on is titled “Project Rebobble”. He utilizes cell phones outfitted with applications to control his robots.

He also has worked on a project with 4D graphics which are branding as well as advertising. It is a media package that is connected through design.

            Speculation about where design will be heading

Ebrahim discusses the future of design through the use of what he titles the Amethyst Cluster. The Amethyst Cluster is both graphic and interior design. It also uses a combination of materials, the elements are both big and small. There is an established hierarchy that represents the inside as well as the outside.