Growing up
As kids, all my cousins drew. We would draw comics together, make up characters and stories.
Having fun
I always asked my parents to save big cardboard boxes for me so I can make fake houses. I would cut out windows, doors, and make bookshelves and tables inside the fake house.
Moving to a New Country
My family moved to Canada when I was 12. It was very difficult as I did not speak much English.
I became very bored as school as I did not understand anything. I turned to music for my frustration, and devoted a lot of time to playing the piano.
Failing Dreams
At 14, I decided I want to become a piano performer.
In my last year of highschool, I spent all my time preparing for college auditions. I got into my dream music school, but my dad was not happy with this career choice.
During my time at music school, I developed tendinitis in both my arms. Eventually I had to withdraw because I was unable to play without great amount of pain.
Life in Cubicles
I have never felt so lost as to what I want to do in life. I chose to study accounting instead as a “safe route in life”. I worked hard in school eventhough I often did not enjoy the classes.
Once I started working in accounting, it became clear this field was really not for me.
Embracing Art
While working as an account administrator, I began taking some art classes. I noticed all my favourite artists went to ArtCenter (Craig Mullans, Scott Robertson, John Park).
I made it a goal to get into ArtCenter to study Entertainment design.
Magic of Product Design
After one term studying at ArtCenter, I learned about product design. It fascinated me because not only do you sketch, you get to make real things out of your sketches.
Entertainment design was cool. But product design to me was magic.
Working in Kenya
Being in product design means I can fulfill one of my dreams of working in a rural area helping solve local issues.
I got a wonderful opportunity to design and prototype a fulll-size bunk bed in Kenya, for a local university dormitory. Still to this day, this remains as my favourite project.
My Workflow
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