I grew up in Kansas and came to Pittsburgh to study architecture after taking one back-breaking, but inspiring art history class in high school. Initially excited about making an impression on the built landscape, I realized that I wanted to approach the activity of design first through understanding the essences and theories human behavior and development. I turned to the Psychology department and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute here at Carnegie Mellon, through which I more acutely studied human behavior and its intersection with the designed environment.
Being exposed to this amalgam of perspectives, theories and methods about the human condition has helped me recognize the role of Design in our world and the responsibilities put to any designer who makes an imprint on it. And even after so many years here in Pittsburgh, I am excited to be here in the Interaction Design program at the School of Design, continuing to discover how to be a thoughtful and effective advocate of design.
I engage the field as someone constantly moving between designer and researcher. Upholding the human-centered philosophy here, I believe we research artifacts, human behaviors and organizations in order to frame problems in the way we do things, conceive and carry out our goals; we do this in order to learn from others about the way they live, interact with each other, with technology and design.
Gearing up for my thesis year, I would like to pursue the concept of ambiguity in the human experience of the environment, looking at the cross section that this idea of ‘ambiguity’ has with products and spaces. I look forward to revisiting the topics of urban design and the architectural experience, integrating these findings with that of interaction design theories–and making some really cool stuff in the process.