TECHNOLOGY & REALIZATION
Technology & Realization is my strongest area of expertise, as most of my projects have centered on prototyping. From the start of university, I was often tasked with building prototypes due to my prior experience with various fabrication techniques.
Over time, I’ve realized that I approach these technical skills as tools to serve a purpose—I don’t get attached to any particular prototype or idea and am always willing to pivot when a better solution emerges. My entrepreneurial mindset pushes me to keep prototypes functional and focused, avoiding unnecessary features that don’t add value or feasibility. Throughout high school and university, I also learned to always work in a way that—even if the project ends suddenly—I’d have something tangible to show for it.
In my maker exploration, I often follow the Probing and Expansive methods from Drifting by Intention. I begin by exploring without fixed logic to broaden my perspective, then consolidate what I’ve learned into a spectrum of possibilities before committing to a specific direction.
Although I enjoy making, I’ve noticed it can sometimes limit my broader vision. As a designer, I shift between executing hands-on tasks and taking a top-down view—searching for new connections and opportunities. I value this duality, as it defines clear boundaries for my capabilities and keeps me conscious of what I can truly achieve.
BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
I strongly believe that even the most brilliant idea will fail without a solid business foundation or market demand to support it. That’s why I dedicated much of my bachelor's to developing my skills in business, management, and entrepreneurship—through business sprints, events, an internship at a multinational, and courses from the Industrial Engineering department.
This focus has shaped a highly critical, often black-and-white mindset when evaluating whether an idea is truly feasible. While this decisiveness is useful in high-pressure situations, it can be limiting when considering long-term possibilities. To counterbalance this, I consciously reflect on my judgments and question whether they were made too hastily.
My approach is inspired by Disciplined Entrepreneurship, The Lean Startup, and the Post-Growth Entrepreneurship mindset. Alongside these frameworks, launching my own startup has deepened my understanding of how businesses are built—and how others build theirs.
Looking back, I see that this focus has given me a valuable perspective on every new project. It has also added an essential filter: to always seek impact and to identify the right market fit for each idea. Ultimately, I view entrepreneurship not just as a skill, but as a mindset—one that empowers fast, impact-driven decisions and fuels innovation.
USER & SOCIETY
To me, the most important part of design is understanding what users truly need—not just what they say they want—and recognizing their role within a broader societal context. I still consider myself developing in this area, as I’ve noticed a tendency to overlook bias in how I frame questions or set up research. However, I always reflect on these shortcomings in my reports, believing that acknowledging mistakes is key to personal growth and deeper empathy.
Validation is one of the most challenging yet rewarding parts of the design process. It consistently reveals new directions and pulls me out of my own assumptions, which is why I base my design decisions on the insights it provides. As a strong advocate of user-centered design and the Reflective Transformative Design Process, I use this expertise to stay grounded and genuinely connect with the people I design for.
I look for empathy, subtleties, and hidden details during validation, knowing that the real answers often lie between the lines.
As I move further toward designing for behavioral change, I find myself increasingly drawn to exploring the nuances of human emotion, habits, and rituals—seeking a deeper understanding of people at the core of every design.
creativity & aesthetics
The way we design—and how we interact with what we create—is fundamental to any project. That’s why, as a designer, I believe it’s essential to stay conscious of both the creative process and the meaning behind aesthetic choices.
Whether I’m designing a product, service, or mindset, I consistently work to abstract interactions using the Interaction Frogger Framework, consider device agency, and research how users interpret visual elements. In every project—initially in more abstract ways, now with growing intention—I aim to balance the client’s vision with my own values, embedding them into both the form and function of the design.
Looking back, I wish I had established a cohesive visual identity earlier. My past work varies significantly in look and feel, often reflecting different values. For example, in my first Industrial Design project, I pushed a simplicity-focused aesthetic onto the product’s appearance and behavior. Today, that simplicity runs deeper—embedded in intuition and the overall design logic.
Moving forward, I plan to solidify a clear visual identity across my work, refining it gradually rather than reinventing it each time.
MATH, DATA & COMPUTING
After my first year, this area of expertise gradually faded into the background, only resurfacing when coding or basic math and data analysis were required. Recognizing early on that I wouldn’t focus heavily on it, I chose to maintain and apply my skills through a two-year self-initiated project in the Honors Academy. This allowed me to build on what I learned in high school and my first year—overseeing prototyping, coding, and the necessary data analysis outputs.
I’ve never been a natural in this area; I often looked for shortcuts to get tasks done more easily. Yet, through several close calls and high-pressure situations, I developed a pragmatic mindset: one focused on delivering reliable, minimal, functional solutions. This approach has made me a valuable team member when quick execution in coding or analysis was needed.
In the end, I admit this is my least favorite and least developed domain. While the world increasingly moves in this direction, I’ve accepted that I engage with it out of necessity—not passion.
