resume:
personal statement:
Two years ago I enrolled in the course, “Human Factors in Architecture.” This course marked a significant transition in my education, as I began to look less at the physical components of buildings and more closely at the actual user experience in an environment. I began to realize that the meanings that people often associate with buildings are not always tangible, but instead are developed from the seamless recognition of a designed experience. Now in my final semester in the School of Architecture, I have continued to study these ideas through the development of my thesis project. My proposal aims to investigate the ways in which people interface with space to create meaning. Acknowledging that digital environments are becoming an increasingly real situation, we are beginning to lose sight of built form. My desire is not to hinder this process, but is instead to choreograph the experience of people’s interactions in a dual space, which neither cheapens the value of the physical environment nor denies the technological advances of digital systems.
This ongoing personal investigation in my work has broadened my interests and studies beyond architecture. After reviewing the programs and opportunities at other schools, my choice to apply to the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University has been an informed decision based on finding a program which most closely relates to my current interests and goals. Having taken several courses in the Design School, including Imaging the City, Graduate Typography, and Letterpress and Bookbinding, I have been afforded meaningful opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary work and to interact with professors that have significantly shaped my process, approach, and understanding of design. These opportunities have revealed a dedicated faculty and unique program, which focuses its attention on the impact of human-centered design. In particular, the Master of Design in Interaction Design program positions itself at the nexus of this approach by expanding the role and influence of the design field into a larger context. By engaging with many well-established programs at this university, including Human-Computer Interaction, Robotics, and Engineering, I believe that the school’s dedicated approach to integrated design has fostered a new standard in the field and has introduced collaborations that will be essential to the future of design.
My decision to apply for a Master’s degree in the Interaction Design program is the next logical step in continuing to explore my passion of human-centered design. This is my primary interest, and architecture merely provides only one scale of this exploration through the form of buildings and space. A study in Interaction Design looks at this exploration at all scales and through all processes. It has the ability to mediate a user’s experience in both digital and physical realms. How can environments, systems, services, and products begin to take cues from both a digital and physical interface to become most effective? The answer is not two-dimensional. It is not the surface of an object or the screen of a program, but it is instead an understanding of a process of creating an interaction with the aim of achieving a meaningful experience. I am exited by the chance to continue to define and redefine this new field of study as it becomes increasingly more vital. I believe the School of Design will provide the avenue for this continued exploration and a graduate degree will assist me in establishing a career in a field in which I am truly passionate.
