Designer
Research
As a designer, approaching the end of my masters degree from North Carolina State University, I am fascinated with asking questions. This desire to explore more possibilities, in hopes of finding new opportunities, is the reason I am interested in design research. In other words, I am excited about designing for the future.
Iterations
My design process is rapid, iterative, and open. Through externalizing my work early in my design process, I am able to ‘step back’ and assess where I am headed. This ‘distance’ provides an open outlet for discussion from those whom I am working with. This open, collaborative approach to designing, is how I work and believe it supports a stronger design cycle that never has to end…its iterative.
Collaborative Ideas
Ideating, designing, and working with others has been a lot of my graduate school experience. This exposure with working with various stakeholders (e.g. graduate students, faculty research teams, large entities such as a museum) in my design work has proven valuable for a future in designing in teams. I envision a future of research that encompasses collaboration with designers, health professionals, developers, and anyone else that aligns with the initiates that I am a part of.
Educator
Motivation
Motivation is something that fascinates me. As a coach and a teacher, I find motivation a key component to both roles. The concept of engaging others in a manner that encourages them to move, participate, study, and/or strive for more accomplishment is something that translates into both. As I begin to develop a presence in the community of educators (sometime in the future), I hope to bring this motivational component into the classroom setting for the benefit of my students.
Process
Demonstrating to others how you work is something that I have been working on myself and with the students I TA. By not only showing the early sketches and thought process, I am encouraging my students to find ways they can document how they work—whiteboard, computer, diary, etc.—to later incorporate into their portfolios. Demonstrating to others (i.e. future employers) the types of working environments the students have been a part of, the ‘style’ of working they prefer, and the methods they use to work, will remove the vague explanation/understanding of how designers ‘design’.
Action Prototyping
The benefit of designing in the end-context of use is something that I strive for. By integrating a designed artifact, interactive, etc. into where it will be used, viewed, installed, etc. provides a designer the unique opportunity to gain exposure to ‘reality’ that is difficult to replicate otherwise. I am continually looking for ways students and myself can design for the types of experiences and interactions with the technology we intend to use it on. Some may question the boundary between designing and developing which is a great point. I say lets blur that line and have a way to be able to experience what we design, rather than speculate how it would feel, flow, sounds, etc. Not many would design a book without printing out spreads, doing a mock-up of the book, and then flip through the book to gauge scale, pacing, etc.—we need to continue to empower students with ways to experience their designs, just as the mock-up does.
Coach
Physical Activity
My primary goal as a coach is to create a way for players to enjoy physical activity. This is an important part of any sport, no matter the age. Depending on the context, I have to adjust my coaching dynamic to match that of the expectations of an organization and the players involved while continuing to strive for an atmosphere that encourages the physical activity at hand. In the future, I hope to continue to encourage physical activity and I believe that design research can contribute to this initiative.
Effort
“It’s all about the effort” is a quote that I find to continually arise in my coaching experiences. Showing up to practice, dedicating your mind to learning sport from coaches and experience, and externalizing your commitment through hustle (takes various forms), are the aspects of a player I reinforce.