Nitakuwasiliana "I'll keep in touch."
(Bridget's trip to Tanzania)
... & India

So, it has just dawned on me that perhaps one of you may be wondering why on earth I’m making this trip.  And rightly so – I, too, would like to know if I were you.  So, if anyone comes up with an answer, gladly share it with me at your earliest convenience.

No, no, only kidding.  If I can explain the reasoning behind my penguin theme, I better be able to explain why I’m about to travel to an entirely different hemisphere for the rest of my summer.  So, here goes.  Please bear with me if it doesn’t make all that much sense – I tend to have trouble really expressing in words how I feel about the things that are most important to me.

Alright, so let’s start from the top.  I go to the University of Cincinnati, and I’m in the industrial design program in the university’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. All you really need to know is that I’m in DAAP - pronounced, “dap” - and that it’s about all I see at the university.  It sounds pretty pathetic, but I actually couldn’t be happier.  My major is just about the most awesome thing I ever could have come across, and so are the people I get to spend my time with everyday.  (Don’t get me wrong; it’s a lot of work.  When you like what you’re doing, though, it doesn’t seem half as bad.) 

So, you might be wondering just what industrial design is.  Put succinctly, it’s an applied art dealing with the design of products, and by products, I mean essentially anything that isn’t a building (architects), apparel (fashion designers), or some form of visual communication (graphic and digital designers).  That leaves you with nearly everything you might be able imagine, including consumer electronics, appliances, furniture, toys, packaging, medical equipment - I think you get the picture.  Industrial designers try to uncover what it is that any portion of a population needs or desires, and then consider key areas including function, aesthetics, and ergonomics to design a product to meet to these needs.

Clearly, there is a lot of freedom to specialize within the field of industrial design – not every designer designs every type of product.  Although I have a good deal of time before I must make any sort of definitive choice concerning my focus, it’s something that I truly enjoy considering.  Through all of the time I have spent thinking about and researching the many possibilities I may one day have, I have developed a deep desire to pursue the focus of social impact design within my field.  In this manner, I would work to design products to meet the essential needs of individuals most in need of good design, with a goal of bringing about serious positive change in their lives.  No matter what a person’s situation may be in life, I believe that every individual deserves effective design; I want to be a part of ensuring that such a thing happens.

Although most of us are able to afford more than what we absolutely need as consumers, many individuals do not have this luxury.  Unfortunately, because their purchasing power does not offer much incentive within a consumer market, they are overlooked far too often within the field of design.  Although it might not be the most profitable choice, the idea of being able to design for the people who need it most seems like the absolute ultimate way I could ever consider spending my life. In choosing this focus, I would like to be able to design for the most underserved populations in any region of the world, doing anything from designing temporary housing for individuals who have suffered through natural disaster, to water purification systems for individuals who do not have clean drinking water, to even simply basic household goods for individuals in need of effective design but often forced to go without.

While I might not be able to spend all of my time designing for countries still focusing largely on development, this aspect of the field certainly engages my interest the most.  What is important to consider, however, is that in order to be able to design for a specific population, you must have a deep understanding of their needs and interests.  Although you might be able to learn quite a bit through research, I believe that the only way to truly be in touch with your target population is to have experienced precisely what they experience every day.  This is especially important in my field of interest because in order to create practical designs for those who possess little, I will need to take into account the precise resources they do.  In this way, I will be able to design products that use these resources efficiently and can be sustained by the people.  By living in Tanzania for seven weeks this summer, I will be able at least to begin to get a taste of the conditions individuals living in a developing country face each day. 

As for my decision to work at an orphanage, there are several reasons.  First of all, I absolutely love children, so why not make them the primary focus of my time there?  I believe I will be able to form strong bonds with them even in the short time I will be visiting, and through these bonds, I know I am bound to learn volumes.  I experienced a better childhood than I could have ever asked for; more than anything, I wish that the children of Tanzania could be given the same opportunities in life I received. I know that I will leave the country having received much more than I could ever offer – that is the nature of one person doing what he or she can to help many.  If there were any group I could help, however, I would love for it to be the children.  They are their country’s one and only future, and should I ever have the privilege of designing in Tanzania, I will undoubtedly be working with the children and young adults of today with the interests and potential of the children of tomorrow in mind.

At this point, the experiences I will encounter on this incredibly new journey are entirely a mystery.  One cannot say if I will be able to achieve my goals or if I will even leave still wanting to design for the underprivileged of countries like Tanzania.  The only way to take this most necessary step in evaluating my future, however, is to just go for it.  All anxiousness, excitement, and expectations aside, this trip is bound to teach me something, and I am off to learn it.

Friday, 18 July 2008

…. they are discouraged by clients not trusting their better judgment.  

So, I figured out how to code for dates, and of course, everything looks much better without them.  Don’t worry - I’ll still type them on the first post of any particular day, but that will certainly be enough.  Not like you were really all that worried in the first place.  

Hah!  So this is what design school does to a person.  Speaking of which, don’t my classes sound so intense?

15 July 2008

Just as I finish defending my theme, I realize there are no dates incorporated. The historical worth of my posts is now significantly lessened - one might even go so far as to say eliminated altogether - and my dreams of being in a history book one day may very well have just been destroyed.  Logically, I could just change the theme, but I still like it.  I even tried figuring out how to code for the post date myself, but somehow the two hours I spent learning about coding from my fine friend Katie Lee weren’t quite enough to prepare me.  So, I suppose I’ll just have to add them within the actual posts.  Problem solved :)

14 July 2008

Just a note on my theme: It probably seems funny that I chose one with frequent images of penguins, but I have my reasons.  

*First, it looks sort of cool.  

*Second, it looks even cooler when your realize that it’s based off the Penguins Classics books, especially (once again) if you’re into the whole reading scene.

*Third, I’ve often been told that I have the tendency to “write a book” whenever the opportunity to write presents itself, so it seemed sort of fitting.

I’ll try to keep the third point as irrelevant as possible for the sake of your busy lives, but I fear I may be off to a bad start …

Why yes, yes I am.  Don’t ask me why I’m like this, at least not unless we’re talking in person.  For some reason, though, I decided that it would be an especially good idea to make my first-ever journey beyond the borders of our lovely country into a seven-week-long trip, by myself, to Tanzania, to volunteer at an orphanage.  So, that’s what I’m doing.  I’ll be gone from 19 July through 7 September, and while I’m there, I’ll be volunteering at Good Hope Orphanage just outside Arusha.  It houses 30 children age five and under, or so I’ve been told.

So, I suppose it’s not very nice to leave the country for seven weeks and not let anyone know what’s up while you’re gone.  I know I wouldn’t stand for it if someone I knew did that to me.  Thus, at the thoughtful suggestion of others, I’m going to try this whole blog-type idea.  I can’t really say that I know how it’s going to work out, but if you’re reading this, I suppose we’re already doing pretty alright for ourselves, right?  

Hopefully I’ll give you a little more to read sometime between now and 7 September … that is, if you’re into the whole reading scene.

13 July 2008