Hi, I'm Amy!

One of the projects I’ve been working on as of late is my personal identity. I’ve heard quite a few of my classmates say “I don’t know who I am” and have thought the same many times. While I feel like I know myself, I have a hard time explaining it to others, and an even harder time communicating it visually. How can I communicate to potential employers that I’m hardworking, detail oriented, into knitting, love crafts and can be quite fun once you know me, with a brand. I’m sure it’s possible and am getting closer each time I work on it, but I still feel like part of my personality will be missing.

Networking with people in the business and potential employers can be very intimidating, add in the judgment that comes when you hand over your business card and it’s almost too much. My professor strongly suggested that my classmates and I have our business cards ready for Design Thinkers (a design conference in Toronto) and I thought it was a great idea, until I realized he wanted us to hand them out. Hopefully all goes well and it is a successful learning and networking experience.

Project: Interaction

While looking for ideas for a skate park re-brand, I came across Project: Interaction, a project to invent, design and change. Project: Interaction is a ten week program that helps high school students use design to change their community. Each week students take on a new lesson to help them improve storytelling, communication, creative thinking, and problem solving skills. Here is a re-cap of each lesson:

1 - Look at Times Square: How does design work, how do people interact with design?

2 – High Line: Take a look at reinvention, how can something be completely transformed?

3 – Union Square: How does the design of a space meet the needs of those who use it?

4 – Into the Wild: Students visit a design studio to see how the concepts they learned play out in the working world.

5 – Did you Check in Here: Check out the app Foursquare and see how it relates to the city setting.

6 – How to Find Info in NYC: What is the difference between a good and a service?

7 – Green Buildings: Examine what designers have done to make buildings more environmentally friendly.

8 & 9 – Final Project: Students work on their final project and have one last lecture from a guest speaker.

10 – Reflection: Students informally present their work and discuss the solutions they came up with.

While programs of this sort are popping up in large cities all over the place, small towns are still missing design in the classroom. Maybe by the time I have my own family; design will be available more readily in the classroom setting. Maybe I’ll be the one teaching it?

Create-A-Thon

Although I’m nervous, and have been anxious about it all week, I’m getting kind of excited for Create-A-Thon. For 24 hours I will be doing pro bono work for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region. After the Cambridge and KW branches amalgamated the group was left with outdated campaign materials. Our goal is to get their new name and logo out there with new brochures, signage and a new booth display for employees to take around to events in the area. I hope everything runs smoothly and that we have enough time to get everything done. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a great cause and they deserve the attention of the local community. Keep your eyes peeled for the groups’ new look!