Penn Student Design employs talented student designers to work with clients and develop their skills as professionals. We aim to provide our clients with solutions that are tailored specifically to their needs, and we achieve this through one-one one attention. I like to think our model is perfect for our size, and is beneficial for both client and designers. Clients are able to communicate their precise vision to us, and designers develop a project and control the dynamics of the design process. As Director, my role is to understand the client's initial needs, strategize a plan for the execute of the project, and ultimately connect a capable designer (or team of designers) to the project.
What compelled you to serve as Director for this club? What have been and continue to be your goals for it?
I saw that there was a genuine sentiment among various students — not just Fine Arts majors — to professionalize their experiences in Fine Arts classes. I think that while the pre-professional emphasis is clear among other schools such as Engineering and Wharton, what direction student should take can be a bit vague in the College, where many design-inclined students need to gain practical experience building out their portfolios and working with clients — skills that will ultimately help them land a job in the design field. I decided to become Director as a way to facilitate students who wish to do this, and I have seen PSD grow as a community of designers that support each other in achieving their goals. While PSD is technically a student-run business, I plan bi-weekly meetings to encourage communication among our membership, and organize design events in Philadelphia so we can learn from practitioners in the field. I hope to see our clientele continue to grow in the future so we can support more designers, and eventually host events for the Penn community!
How can other students join?
While we generally accept students in the beginning of each semester, anyone can still apply at pennstudentdesign.com/apply.
Tell us a little bit about yourself- your major(s), interests, where you’re from, what you hope to do after graduation?
I’m a Visual Studies and Fine Arts double major from Brooklyn, NY. I live and breathe design, and like to think I approach most of my work as a design exercise! Though I started out as a graphic designer fascinated by software like Photoshop and Illustrator, my current work is best described as a synthesis between design, experience, and code. I love building (and breaking) things such as the frontends of websites, interactive prototypes, and hardware installations with Arduinos. After graduation, I hope to enter the field as a UX designer — or maybe start my own company!