Functional First

Before I knew how to explain why, I was drawn to coral reefs as a natural wonder: a beautiful colorful world condensed into a small patch of open ocean.

At university, marine ecology changed how I saw the reef. A reef was indeed functional first, and beautiful second. It took a few more years to find Dieter Rams and frame it this way, but my philosophy as a science graduate was already system-focused.

The bright fluorescent colors that corals show are a result of their symbiotic algae partners, which protect them from UV radiation. For tropical fish, bright color and patterns are mechanisms developed through natural selection to deter predators. As a scientist, with every why question I asked and answered, I got more questions.

Systems Thinking

These days I make digital interfaces and brands. Regardless of the brief, I find myself making connections to the bigger picture: what problem is the brand solving, what feature to prioritise and why. I like understanding how the parts affect each other, and where one decision changes the behaviour of the whole system. I have plenty to share on this in a future note.

Making Real

I was a programmer first. Before I was a designer, I was an ecologist and bioinformatician, computing theory and hypotheses into outcomes, or models. An ecological model allows you to test the size of a fish population at different harvest pressures and better understand theory. I get a similar satisfaction from designing with AI. I can prototype an idea quickly and iterate from what works and what doesn't. Coding with natural language is how I'm cultivating agency as a designer: figuring out what the design needs through the process of making the interface real.

Keep Making

To conclude, I would like to express my deep enthusiasm for the opportunities that AI has provided to curious individuals like myself. It is only human to compare yourself to others who have more skills and resources to leverage technology to its fullest. At the end of the day, what makes the biggest difference is if you keep making and sharing what you learn along the way.

Happy creating!