In Class Speaker: Ashley H. (potential professor)

Keeping in mind that this was the first potential professor that we have gotten to see, I really enjoyed listening to her. She had very engaging content and a lot to bring to the table. I got the feeling that she was still learning and was open to the idea of continual growth, which I really appreciated. Sometimes, especially in design, we get professors who think there are right and wrong answers. She, on the other hand, gave me the impression that she will be very constructive because of her own rationality behind her work. I also liked the fact that she was African American. I realize that this sounds kind of bad, but when I look back on my 4 year, I haven't had one African American teacher at Drake, NOT ONE. She emphasized her skin color a lot throughout her presentation, making me believe that it was a huge part of her identity and important to her. This new perspective will most certainly be enlightening for future students and add more diversity into the program.

Most importantly, I was sad that I was a Senior. Listening to her speak, I realized that she would have been a great mentor, and I will never get the opportunity to learn under her. I really hope that the program hires her and gives her a chance. She seems like an individual whom students can express their deepest feelings too. I think this is really helpful because design can be a very emotionally invested field.

Objectives for Projects 1&2

My main objective for project 1 and 2 is to be proud of what I produce. I want it to exude my personality and portray who I am as a person and designer. I want them all to be cohesive, have spunk, and be simple. 

I don't want to look like I'm trying very hard. I am a very simple designer with lots of personality and sass and I want to convey that in my designs!

Design Statements (draft 2)

My relationship with creativity is fickle at best. But preconceived possibilities would ruin those amazing moments of inspiration. I strive for the feeling you get after stressful dead ends. That moment of accidental clarity is worth more than a thousand simple solutions. It's pure and honest creativity that speaks to me.

Not having a plan, is the best plan of all. I can enter a project with the best intentions, but it isn't until I've given up and been defeated that the spark of originality saves me. Rarely do good ideas come easily to me. I thrive on this challenge. When I come up with ideas fast, I get an uneasy feeling that they are too simple or too obvious. My process almost needs a struggle in order to be satisfying. 


I always wrestle with thinking differently and coming up with unique solutions. I want to be inspiring. I want to be bold and new. I want to design in a way that makes people wish they thought of it first. These challenges don't come on the first try. They come with reworking your designs until you can't possibly part with any aspect of them. Those are the solutions worth fighting for.  

This pushes my designs beyond the surface level. I try not to overthink my processes, but instead push myself to understand my goals and objectives of my pieces. I do this by absorbing critiques,  researching fellow designers, and taking steps back. I want to fully consider multiply solutions and simply play with stuff. The solutions that work will be clear through multiple revisions and reworkings.