Research Team


WHY DID YOU APPLY TO THE ITALIADESIGN FIELD SCHOOL PROGRAM?

I applied for the Italia Design field school so that I would have the opportunity to surround myself with centuries of innovation. Also, to be able to visit the places that formed our way of life today, and see the ways in which cities have changed with people and their needs.

WHAT I LEARNED

About cities?
I find it really difficult to put the things that I have learned on this trip into writing. It is as though all of the data and information that has been acquired throughout my degree, stopped floating around in my head, and actually formed itself into something useful. Throughout the trip I found myself beginning to learn the languages of cities, cities that were great because they embraced their own rich history and use it to write their present. I learned the importance of the connection between people, and the spaces they call home; that a city, and the people living in it, is not two separate things but rather two inseparable pieces of an ever-evolving system.

About design?
One of the greatest things I learned while in Italy was to consider the expanded design context. Not just to design an object for a user and a space, but to think of how that object fits within the space, how that space fits within a building, and that building the city... and so on. By stepping back and looking at the larger picture, simple decisions are seen to make a much larger impact. This type of approach to design process allows for the creation of balanced solutions that exist within the scope of a greater design context.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STUDYING ABROAD AND STUDYING AT HOME

When you are studying at home, everything you need to do your work is available, so you can put all of your energy into your process. When you are abroad, you have to discover your work areas and make do with the things available to you. It is a great experience, but something that you should be expecting. The most wonderful thing about studying in Italy is that you are living IN the context of whatever you are working on. You can walk around the piazzas you are studying, or touch the structures you are working into a project. This brings an entirely new dimension to your work.

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

  • Lying on the beach in Rome

  • The fireworks in Florence

  • Fireflies in Dolciano

  • Riding a one speed bike up a mountain to Fiesole, and the ride back down to Florence

  • Trying to keep a convoy of three cars together in Milanese traffic.

MY TRANSCENDENT MOMENT

" It was as though I had been brought closer to things that surrounded me in this city, that in a way, I had touched the past."

Download this and the rest of my Florence moments here

MOST MEMORABLE INTERVIEW MOMENT/QUOTE

Getting the chance to look at Alberto Meda's Prototypes and sketches. It was great to see that even the greatest of ideas come from humble beginnings.

FAVORITE PLACE/SPACE

  • The beach at Tiber Island

  • The Circus Maximus

  • The Marino Marini Museo in Florence

  • The roof of Daniels Palace

MY FAVORITE ITALIAN

Antonio Sant' Elia: Because he wasn't afraid to change the world.

MY FAVORITE MEAL(S)

VONGOLE, Cala Luna in Milan

ADVICE FOR UPCOMING ITALIA DESIGN STUDENTS

Use what you have learned during the field school and travel afterwards. It is so rewarding to be able to apply everything you have learned about yourself, and being abroad to an entirely new adventure. If an opportunity presents itself, take it. You are only ever going to be in that place with those people once in your life. Make every minute a memorable experience.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

I am currently entering my fourth year of a Bachelors of Science in Interaction Design.

CAREER GOALS AND INTERESTS

Right now I am really into architecture and would like to persue that. I will be taking a year off from my degree to work as an interaction designer in the US, but will be finishing when i return home. I would like to continue on to grad school, but I will have to see what transpires in the next few years. If there is one thing I have learned in the last year it is that your life can change directions in a moment’s notice.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

I took a couple years off after high school before coming to SFU. During that time I realized what it was I did NOT want to do for the rest of my life. I really wasn't too sure where I wanted to take my education when I started out, and after two years I sort of fell into Interaction Design. Over the past year and a half, a ton of hard work and a fair amount of chance have allowed things to really fall into place. Italy was really great for me as it acted as a goal in the years working up to the study. This whole experience has really opened up the world to me.