Why did I select the MSD Program?
Coming from design education and design consulting backgrounds, I soon realized that the beauty of design was in the people who experience the built environment—their realities, frustrations, delights, beliefs, and aspirations, and not just the artifacts and environments themselves. The MSD program offered a Human Factors specialization with professors with expertise in that ambiguous field of ‘human factors’–ergonomics and anthropometrics, design research and cultural studies, to name a few. With design and human factors as my lenses, as well as the diverse resources in the greater ASU community, I was able to explore the rich intersection of design and human understanding that I was seeking.
What was the most significant learning experience in the MSD Program?
Without people at the center, our designs are empty. When designing for people, we design for a particular audience and for their needs. They become potential recipients of desired experiences. The MSD program helped affirm this imperative of people as a focus. I’d like to think this helps prevent me from designing the worst case scenario: empty experiences—products, services and interactions with a personal agenda and no audience to give a damn.
How did earning the MSD assist me in my present position?
As design practitioners, we must advocate for people, all the while acknowledging the constraints imposed by reality. We must consistently revisit the greater human need in order to not lose our bearings, and to explore ways to create the ideal experience for all stakeholders. If we don’t, then who will? The MSD program helped me create a foundation, that is, a starting point of skills to develop, confidence to grow, and imagination to stretch, enveloped with a particular conscience for which I am proud. Manufacturing assemblies, customer service, styling and aesthetics—even legal counseling—can be sent off-shore these days but a designer’s conscience cannot, nor should it be.
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