I’ve always had taste. I’ve always been conscious of the design and look of everything around me. I can be quite picky, and I thought this was a bad thing. I always knew what I liked and what I didn’t. I would never buy something, wear something, or be associated with anything that I didn't like the design of. This could be frustrating. But eventually, I realized, this is just who I am. I’m a designer. I care about the way things look, the way things feel, the way things work. I want the design of everything around me to be beautiful, and I realize I could help make it that way.
Me realizing this led me to the University of Waterloo. For four years, I studied Global Business and Digital Arts at their Stratford Campus. This program title may not make a lot of sense, so let me tell you what I’ve learned. The short answer is kinda everything. It was a generalist program. I learned everything from logo design to user experience design to international marketing. From this program, I have experience in graphic design, UI and UX design, UX research, web design, videography and filmmaking, the ethics of design, and that’s just the fun stuff.
On my own, I explore hobbies like film photography, knitting & crochet, and baking various types of bread. When it comes to making things, I bring an attitude of “I can do that.” My thought is never “it might be cool to do that.” My thought is always “I can make that,” “I can learn to do that,” “I can try that and waste a lot of money doing so,” “I can design that.” I usually wobble in the middle, thinking maybe I can’t. But I always get there in the end.
