Final thoughts for the semester
I understand the underlying and hidden details of the design process a lot more now. It is funny to compare my original thoughts of this class and my experience now. Originally, I thought we would be working on a project as a class, not in individual teams, to generate a final product for an end user. Rather, a major theme of “get out of the building” to talk to people and explore became evident for the class. The theme is extremely similar to that of the business minor here at UVA in my opinion. I learned how to differentiate industry design and product design with this class because of the time we spend emphasizing user feedback utilizing research to break into innovative design spaces.
The guest lecture off grounds with the graduate architecture student really hit home the whole idea of design and purpose of iteration for me. Interpretation is different for everyone and working off of iterations is what allows all facets of a solution to be explored. What worries me as I age into my final year as an undergraduate is if I’m patient enough to work in design. Patience to me is a key attribute necessary for design because, as many guest lecturers state, success comes from a lot of prior failures. The other part of me that enjoys puzzles thinks that design would be challenging and exciting. I know I have some great ideas I would love to explore to change the world, but it is truly daunting to think of the indirect effects of inventions,how it might change cultural norms, as well as influence users. One design I think of while I reflect is the Venmo App, yes it is convenient but it has created this culture where people are nickel and diming others. Ultimately, I feel like I got to know the design post-grad option a little better and am thankful for the new knowledge.
BME Design 