I am Tom Zhou, and I am studying Product Design at Parsons. This is my second semester at the school.
Looking back at projects I did this year, I believe that I have learned what I was hoping for at the beginning of the first year. I developed a basic design thinking skills, drawing and model making techniques, and more advanced writing techniques. I also understand my major more through the entrepreneurial making class in which I designed a product myself. I found most of the classes was focusing on the people and environment, which is what designers should be always considering.
In Space and Materiality, I learned basic woodworking skills, and I used them to make my prototypes for both Entrepreneurial Making and Studio class.
I found that what I studied in Sustainable Systems class has constantly affecting when doing other projects. I start to reduce my waste as much as I can, and I would consider the sustainability aspect of my material choice.
I think it is always the idea of “I can change something” or “I can make it better” that makes projects and paper exciting. I think further research would help me think through everything before making projects, especially for physical models and designs.
For my sustainable systems class, I wrote a paper on the environmental impacts of music festivals. My interest in music initiated me to choose this topic and I found some fascinating facts when I did my first research. I planned out and revised my outline a few times, spent a lot of time finding resources, and revised my drafts. If I had time, I would like someone else to read my paper and see if it is comprehensive. Doing the research gives me an idea of how much people are affecting the environment and how many people have already noticed the problem and started solving them. What’s more important is that it allows me to understand why being sustainable is a hard thing to do.
For my studio class, I designed a seating/lighting intervention for Union Square. When developing my design, I did on-site observations, site analysis, 3d modeling, prototyping, and a lot more stages to finally arrive on my final design. 
I learned that there is a lot to consider when designing a piece, and it is very hard for a designer to design something they have never experienced before.
I would like to learn more about the design process in the future because I feel like everyone one would have a different approach to it and I need to find one that works best for me so that I could follow it in future projects.
My research in sustainable festivals might inspire me to design interventions or products in the future to help eliminate the negative impacts.
I would like to learn more modeling, woodworking, and other materials’ working skills so that I am able to make my products or prototypes in the future. I also would like to learn more about materials in general, because it is essential knowledge to a product designer.
