Tell me a bit about your final year project?
I’m designing a sustainable restaurant space. I’m quite passionate about it, it's quite personal because my grandfather used to own a restaurant before he passed away and it was never reopened. So I wanted to realise what his dreams were and create something that is a bit more modern, sustainable and appealing to new generations.
How has your degree shaped and influenced your final year project?
What I have found fantastic about this course is that they bring in people actually working in the industry, so you get an insight into what they do. One lecturer, Paul Murray, allowed me to change perspective completely. I was always a very straightforward designer, without having the need to think of emotions and the conceptual thinking. But after long talks and just sitting having coffee just randomly in the mornings, I was able to grow and develop as a designer and I think even as a human myself. That growth and development, I wouldn't trade that for anything else. What design now means really for me is creating spaces that allow individuals to live their best possible lives, and that’s what I want to bring to my project - a space that's for growth development and learning, but also helping the local community.
How have you connected with the other students on the course?
Honestly, I've never experienced more growth and enrichment really in my life. It’s amazing to see people become specialists - students are building full wooden models, and they're fantastic. Other students are building full visuals within a matter of minutes, and it's just amazing to see that you've been learning and growing along these people for all these years.
What are you thinking about what’s next?
I want to learn from the lecturers and take that learning forward. Not only do I want to work in the industry, I want to make a difference – I don't just want to stagnate and just leave the degree as it is. For me, I've always thought of it as my first stepping stone.
How are you feeling about the degree show?
It's heart-warming to think that people would be willing to come to our degree show and really just take in all the work that we've done. People will always end up seeing the final product, the finished models, the perfected visuals, our concepts and pitches, but they don't see necessarily see the stress, the hours, the all-nighters – what it took people to get to that point. The time and how much emotion we really put into it - the end product is usually only half, even a quarter of what the overall initial idea was. I’m really excited, but also really daunted about the degree show. I can’t wait!
How would you sum up your last 4 years in one sentence?
The best four years of my life.