Hey there! My name is Carolyn. I am a 3rd Year Interactive Arts and Technology concentrating in Design and Media Arts.
At the beginning of this semester I was very confused. Confused about what this course was about and confused about what I was passionate about. It has been instilled in me to always strive for “when I grow up I want to….” Or “after university I can…”, but until now, I did not realize that the time to act is not “in the future” but NOW. The emphasis on actively making and creating tangible solutions in the physical world off of paper throughout this semester has inspired me to pursue more of what I am passionate about, filmmaking and shaping human experiences. The topic of sustainability has provided me with a framework of which I can use to drive my creative practice.
Over the past four months I created personal prototypes that explored how to influence a change towards more sustainable behaviours in my friends, family and those around me through the process of making together. While my prototypes were more intangible, some of the physical results were creating a whale and camera strap out of old clothes and ultimately through the process of creating all these prototypes, I was inspired to bring the aspect of sustainability into the university film/media arts community. The inspiration I received throughout the semester has motivated me to act in my role as IATSU TV Lead Producer to organize an FCAT Film Festival with sustainability integrated into filming.
I was also excited to work with a team (Cuyler, Brendan and Azat) to create an adaptable Yatai – a Japanese vender food cart—out of upcycled materials to serve as a community beacon to introduce sustainability. Through this project I was not only able to apply my design skills of sketching, ideating and creating a 3D model, but I was also able to build and work together to create a final product.
I learned much over this semester not only about sustainability, but also that real design occurs in the making process. I am excited to see what we will create together in the next phase of prototyping and iterating for Business of Design.