Yale School of Architecture posters by Pentagram
Wendy Sun Capacity Statement
I am a relentless planner. I am running through my day in my mind in morning showers, and scribbling down to-do lists while distracted in lectures. I thrive on the construct of the future. I used to worry so much about the future, but now the future is hope. It’s sunshine. It’s warm weather. It’s new problems and new heartaches and new designs. I embrace the future for all of its complexity and despair and greatness, and I plan for it with the tenacity and resilience that I own with all my heart. I live for the future, for the unknown, for hope.
Rebel Ventures Photos
Jennie Capacities Statement
I’m an optimist, a pragmatist, and a problem solver. I believe that people fundamentally want to do good and that technology can be used to drive positive change. However, I ground my optimism in realism. I try to learn about different backgrounds and perspectives so that I can understand which critical issues need to be solved and the barriers to enacting change. As both an engineer and designer, I can approach complex problems from different angles, break them down into more manageable subproblems, and then synthesize these pieces into a deliverable solution.
Heesoo Capacities Post
I am a persevering cockroach.
I don’t mind staying in the shadows away from all the action. In fact, that is how I learn best – through continuous observation of my surroundings, passively absorbing peoples’ behaviorisms and understanding their thought processes. In doing so, I am able to be perceptive of the individual feelings and emotions of the people around me. I am fascinated by the human mind – how people can perceive, compute, and store identical sets of data and yet formulate polar opposite conclusions and opinions. However, I welcome this discourse as I believe this is the only way humans can truly progress.
I persevere when faced with hardship. Similar to how a cockroach always seems to find its way back to that banana peel in the trash bin against all odds, I am resilient. I am driven by this same hunger – a hunger for intellectual exploration, a hunger for creative freedom, and a hunger for happiness.
Claire Capacities Response
I am a procrastinating perfectionist. The fear of frustration over not meeting my standards leads to procrastination because I am always finding ways to avoid the fear. Ironically, procrastination just exacerbates the stress since I would have less time to “perfect” my work.
However, over the years I figured a moderate amount of procrastination helps me get over my perfectionist mentality. The time pressure eases my obsession with making everything as meticulously as possible. It leads to more creative and efficient way of working. Now instead of getting worked up over small details, I tend to focus on the bigger picture.
Stara: Capacities Statement
I am a choreographer of harmonious complexity. I believe that numerous components can be brought into unity without detracting from one another. The question is merely how to organize them into layers of meaning so that the person experiencing the design may zoom in and out, taking in more or fewer layers according to his or her own needs, which I would not presume to limit. My specialty lies in answering that question through hierarchy, pleasing rhythm, and devoted craftsmanship. No task is too daunting for me, because I love this challenge and do not require much rest from what others might consider hard “work”. I consider it play. My ideal project would be one of endless layers of meaning organized into harmonious structure, creating beauty and revealing function in their interplay, like an infinite fractal. The richness of a design need only be limited by the resources available to create it and the needs of the people who consume it. Give me these inputs (which I will listen to with care), and I will reliably generate results.
Ajibola Bodunrin-Capacities
I am an outlier who can think outside the box. My lived experiences and art work are one in the same. I thrive off of authenticity. My ideas are kinetic and my mind is untameable. Sometimes I lose details in the big ideas, but can still make a beautiful picture.
10 Habits of Great Observers
1. Be Unusually Curious.
2. Watch As Well As Listen.
3. Suspend Judgment & Assumptions.
4. Record Quotes Verbatim.
5. Pay Attention to Stories.
6. Listen for When Words Fail.
7. Note Surprises.
8. Look for Patterns and Relationships.
9. Stay Longer than You Think.
10. Debrief and Discuss.
(Sarah Rottenberg, Penn IPD program)
Consider the output of (graphic) design as the means to enhance social relationships.
Dan Michaelson
Practicum2019 