No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens".
-Mandela, 2014.
MFA, DESIGN RESEARCh + DEVELOPMENT
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 2021-2023 | 3.9 gpa
thesis Research project
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Group Project | Environmental Sustainability in Columbus, Ohio's University District
Spring 2022 This class effort of canvassing and mapping out the University District to get more acquainted with its needs and demographics led to our group focusing on environmental sustainability. Doing so, we wanted to know how the current and future stakeholders in the area views and participates in sustainable practices as well as who has perceived responsibility to sustain them. Using an online survey and conducting co-design sessions with university staff, Ohio State students, and local residents helped us visualize this and allowed for collective dreaming of how this area can look within the next ten to fifteen years. In the future, I plan to keep using co-design as a way to work with communities and allow their lived experiences to influence design proposals. MY TASKS | Conducting and compiling research via the Internet and collaborative conversations, interviewing OSU students and professionals, canvassing University District for survey participation, conducting site studies, participating in Glen Echo Ravine clean-up, creating and facilitating co-design sessions with colleagues and community members. |
Click to view presentation.
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Group Project | Mapping Community Gardens in Columbus, Ohio.
Spring 2022 This group project aimed at creating an updated virtual map of all local community gardens throughout the city and what communities they serve in attempt to understand food insecurity and inaccessibility to fresh produce, learning how to build sustainable community initiatives, as well as suggesting ways to promote other involvement in the cause. We only interacted with about five organizations, but the findings revealed that future expansion is promising throughout the city and that youth are leading the way to changing how society learns about and understands food. MY TASKS | Conducting and compiling research, planning and executing site visits with local farms, conversing with local community garden stakeholders, creating visual aids for applicable and thorough implementation, providing new insight to be used for future improvement and growth. |
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Group Project | Power Dynamics Fall 2021 This project used co-design methods to interact with Ohio State faculty and students, personal contacts, and social media outlets for the purpose of understanding general perceptions of power and influence. Ohio State students used puppets to reenact their own experiences and understandings of a person in power, while we canvassed a wider scope with an online survey asking a variety of questions about the topic. This project revealed that many either feel empowered through their own capabilities or look to the elders and leaders in society, showing polarized opinions about the topic while reassuring that there is a shift happening in who an what people feel influenced by. MY TASKS | A part of complete research and compiling process. |
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Individual Project | Observing and Designing with Squirrels on Ohio State's Main Campus
Fall 2021 For this co-design project, I observed squirrels to study their movement and behavioral patterns in order to be more inclusive of their involvement on campus. I believe it is important to consider animals and other natural aspects in all social aspects, especially when urban development is the cause for displacement and degradation of natural habitat. During this time, I was surprised to see their adaptation to humans and cars, as well as experiencing similar inconveniences gauging traffic and competing for resources. Based on my observations, I drafted some design solutions that I thought may be beneficial. |
Discursive design
key terms | public health, empathy, care ethics, nudging
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The final dossier to follow by 2023.
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Group Collaborative Studio | Research Dossier Spring 2022 Using discursive design to shed light and insight on public health disparities allowed me to think creatively about a variety of social issues ranging from work-life balance to active living. Aiming to make solutions that may not "work" but are provoking enough to bring about change in the future, I learned that there is power is being able to think outside of realistic terms and that truly caring for someone means considering all kinds of people and living situations. These projects were a collective effort from classmates that alternated throughout the semester, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary approaches and collaboration for achieving social good and impact. Visualizations were completed by various colleagues in Interior and Industrial design. MY TASKS | Conceptual idea curation, conducting research via Internet and collaborative conversation, compiling ideas and research process into applicable language, organizing ideas using Miroboard. |
Design futuring
key terms | futuring, speculative design, afrofuturism, urban spaces
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winded.
Fall 2021 Using science fiction as a means to shed light on some of the real experiences of marginalized populations, this short story speaks about the reality of outside forces dictating individual fate and the complexities that can result from that. This exercise allowed me to express my creativity through writing, imagining, and using site-specific features to help my ideas resonate with others. Science fiction is known to address pertinent issues is a way that is digestible by the public, and I am interested in using this technique to spur innovative thinking about design and society. I plan to finish this piece in the future, as well as practice writing other short stories. |
Overnight on the eve of the new year, something in the air shifted. The disgust and dismay of all of the wealthiest, most-travelled, and highly college educated spread throughout the city like a pandemic wave. Nothing and no one could escape its grasp. Nothing would ever be the same...
technology + making
key terms | exploration, emerging technology, iterations, thesis honing
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the beYOUtiful Community Center | A community center for Black and Brown Youth
Fall 2021 This project was a more recent attempt to become reacclimated with Revit software, as well as design an interior and urban space addressing my research interest of creating inclusive spaces for Black communities that foster a sense of belonging. This proposed center is made for youth to be able to have a safe location to go outside of their home that fosters connections to nature and creativity, while educating them about Black and Brown history. I look forward to growing my Revit skills with further projects and designing more spaces for Black communities that reflect their wants and needs. |
