Introduction:
Hello, I’m Kuan-Ying Wu, and I would like to be called Ian. I am 20 years old from Taipei, Taiwan. My major is strategic design and management. After taking a few design class in my freshman year at Parsons. I find out that I am very interested in designing things and make something from scratch. So I apply for changing my major into the product design and wish that I could challenge myself more and find out what is my potential that has been kept in my body for a long time. Besides that, I have taken the space and materiality class this summer and found out that I am interested in wood making. I regret that I didn’t apply for design major when I first came to Parsons, but since I am going to change my major in the next semester, I am looking forward to see what will happen in my journey during studying in Parsons.
Time – Frame:
This is one of the classes that I take during my first Parsons year. At the first class, our teacher assigns us to use photoshop to create a collage based on time. We need to use different photos to let the viewer see the time sequence in our collage. It was a big challenge for me because before I came to New York to study, I didn’t have any class that is related to design or even fashion. I have no idea of how to use the Adobe software, and teacher assumes us to know how to use those tools so she goes through the software rapidly and I have no idea. I have a hard time then, but I stay after class and ask teacher all of my questions and finally learned how to use it efficiently. And this is my final work for that project.
Integrative Studio 1:
In my first-year studio 1 class, we were taught to use many different materials on our four bridge projects, so that we could experience the various effects on those material and finally see what do we like the most. For my last bridge project in that class, I decided to challenge myself and try something new that I am not familiar with, which is fiber optic light. I try to make a cap with the starlight effect on top of the cap. I face a lot of problems when I assemble the light on top of my hat. In the beginning, I thought I plan out everything perfectly, but after starting to put everything together, I found out that I have done the process in wrong order, so it takes me twice the time to complete my cap. Even though it was a tough process, I finish my project on time, and the final result looks unexpectedly good.
Space and Materiality:
For my space and materiality class, I am fortunate to take this class because I am a strategic design and management student. I don’t have the opportunity to take this class in my first year at Parsons, but since I decided to change my major to product design. I have the chance to experience and discover more on the resource in the making center, which is provided by The New School. For this project, we were asked to design some structure based on the parabolic curve and using wood to make the structure out. The technique to make a perfect curve is to draw out two line that is not parallel and point out the same amount of dot on each line, then line those dots up to make a perfect curve. The most important element in this project is to learn how to turn our design from two dimensions to three dimensions. Even though this is the first time making things by wood, I think I enjoy this project and get used to the tool very quickly. And this is how my final structure looks like.
Integrative Studio 2:
( Place that Matters – Macy’s herald square )
Macy’s Herald Square is well-known as the nation’s largest department store, and it last over a century since it was first built. More and more Americans nowadays rely on it and became a part of their life. The reason why this particular Macy’s is so unique, and it is still compatible in the twentieth century because of these several perspectives. It keeps the historical element even though it renovated many time and the symbolization of the star. Moreover, the equally high-quality service that they provide to all the customers is the key element for them to last so long.
Since Macy’s has been founded more than a hundred years ago, they renovate their building to keep the building looks more modern and efficient. But they do it differently. The founder sticks to his mind that he decided that no matter how much they change the interior, the wooden escalator must stay. And this is the reason why we could still see the wooden escalator that still works very well in Macy’s. And all of the escalators are already last ninety-five years.
The logo of the Macy’s department store is also an important feature that makes it so outstanding. It is a replica of the tattoo from the founder’s forearm, and it has a significant story behind it. The red star directs the founder, Rowland Hussey Macy, his path when he is a sailor during his young age. It guides him without letting him lost. We could also find the star symbol in America’s flag, and it represents that fifty states have been united and it is important to all the Americans. By understanding this history and the background story, I think the reason why Rowland Hussey Macy use the red star as the logo of Macy’s is that he wants everyone to gather in his department store.
Macy’s department stores are also well-known for its service. They provide a particular service which every high-end department store would have, which is the personal shopper. But the most unique part of Macy’s personal shoppers is that they accept any customer to make an appointment. Not only the celebrities or VIP in the store. Every customer could have an equal chance to experience this kind of service which is hard to find and rare to see from another department store.
All of these special features that could be found in the Macy’s department store is what makes it so unique and be able to last over a century. After I did all of the research for this essay, I went back to Macy’s and carefully discovered the whole department store. I think Macy’s genuinely deserve the fame of what people gave them and I even appreciate more on what Rowland Hussey Macy, the founder did to this department store.
- For this project, I combine the technique that I have learned in space and materiality class in this summer and also the skills that I have learned in the last studio class. I use the wood to make a small model for the chair and use photoshop to simulate how would the chair be placed in Macy’s department store.
The reason why I decided to make an escalator style chair is that after doing research, I found out that the wooden escalator is the most significant feature in Macy’s Herald Square department store. It not only reminds us of the history of the store but also, the definition of modern in that period is mean “made by wood.” I also think that the escalator is so overlooked by people nowadays, so I make an escalator look chair to let people slow down their pace and sit on it, and also be aware of the unique details that they have missed all the time. Moreover, I would like to place this chair beside all of the wooden escalators.
Process:
Final Documentation:
The Place that I would like to place in Macy’s:
Conclusion:
Time passes rapidly in my first college year at Parsons, and I have learned a lot of new things during this period. Before I came to Parsons, I can’t even image of making something from scratch. But after learning all of the different technique from Parsons and discover all the resources that are in our school, I start to create something different and more unique. Now, I know how to use the laser cutting machine and even wood making. I also experience casting the plaster and cutting the video. And I find out that all of these skills that I have learned from Parsons are the handy technique that we might use in our daily life. Every class in Parsons relates to each other a lot, I could use what I learned in one class to another class, so I am very excited for my next few college years studying at Parsons.
