Personal Interest in Design Part I: The Foundations

I would like to begin by stating the origins of my interest in architecture and design. You see, the first career that crossed my mind was Art. When I first immigrated to the United States at the age of six, my aspiration was to become an artist; the aspect of freedom captivated my interests. However, because of my youth, I did not commit long to drawing lessons. My passion for aesthetics remained, but my actual commitment waned. However, much later, I divulged in Windows designing, using Java to design the windows used in the Windows operating system in the form of SWT. This was actually my first foray into formal design.

This was a very informal intro into design - I learned what different buttons and parts of a windows worked together to form a coherent functional window. Groups and Tabs taught me virtual management while the logical progression of important programs such as Task Manager in Windows. While dabbling in Windows visual design, I felt that it was a very natural thing for me to do - everything fitted together with a very logical framework as I seamlessly learned the various ways to design a window.

Fast forward several years into my high school career where my dad persuaded me into doing taking the introductory Drafting I in High School. This class served as another gateway in my journey with design. While I was opposed at first to taking a "boring class", I later come to appreciate the value of such a skill. In Drafting I class, I learned to handle blueprints and design things using AutoCAD software.

This class had two profound effects on me; first of all it piqued my interest in the Art and Design field and second of all it introduced me to 3D visualization and precision design. The ability to visualize 3D objects and map them out on a 2D interface also introduced the aspect of prospective to me. With another year of formal architecture class, I was initially set on making Architecture my future career. However, the practicality of being an Architect forced me to reconsider my options. Now, though I strive to deal with Design in general and be able to be versatile with many different facets of design.