IDSA Merit Award

Two Wednesdays ago, seven UC ID students, including myself, presented our best work in front of a board of IDSA Southern Ohio Chapter members to compete for the IDSA UC Merit Award. Everyone did stellar jobs and differentiated themselves as designers. Looking back at how we prepared ourselves for this, we wanted to identify why we are designers and how we grew professionally through the school and co-op.

I am happy to say that I was awarded the Merit Award for the class of 2010. I will be attending the IDSA Mideast Conference to represent UC. It means a lot to represent the class, because it is chock-a-block with talent!

After talking with the members of the judging panel for a bit after the event, I learned that a big reason in their decision was the timing and straightforwardness of my presentation, as well as versatility of work. When competing with people who you know have a similar skill set, itís important to be natural/show your personality and customize your work to the intent of the competition. Because public speaking is not one of my strong suits, I put a lot of focus on my verbal presentation and practiced so I could speak in a natural way. It helped to show a ninja stealth-jacket design that is almost completely responsible in showing my personality, and because it was fun to talk about, it was easier to relax and be myself (aka, it's good to enjoy the work that you are presenting!).

You can check out my updated work here. The other candidates were Sam Amis, Kristen Beck, Jeff Engelhardt, Sylvia Spencer, Cody Stonerock, and transportation major David Heyne. Also check out our professor Mike Roller's blog to see other UC work.