PROJECT OBJECTIVE:

The following interviews are part of a larger project for a third-

year Directed Studies in Design Futures. We have conducted

these interviews with Emily Carr alumni to gather knowledge

about design practices, methodologies, experiences and

advocay, while simultaneously taking the opportunity to

showcase former students of Emily Carr University. The

interviews were prepared with two specific audiences in mind;

Current, the Design Research Journal, and the Design°, which

both are web based publishing mediums for design research

and degree content respectively.

We are excited to share with you the outcomes of our project,

and to create a legacy for Emily Carr, sharing the experiences

and insights of alumni.

INTERVIEW

Bree + Solveig

The following is an

interview with the

2010 Industrial Design

Graduate and Parsons

School of Design

student,

Jayson Rupert.

The interview was

conducted via email in

December, 2011.

Current:Tell us about transdisciplinary design and

what transdisciplinary designers are.

Transdisciplinary design is actually rather difficult

to describe as being a specific ‘thing’. It’s more

of an approach to problem solving which is just

as reflective of the individual using it, as it is

a methodology on its own. I guess one could

describe ‘transdesign’ as a bridge between

capacities in any number of disciplines, providing a

framework to address complex problem spaces.

A transdisciplinary designer is someone using

capabilities from one or more specific fields and

combining them with a design strategy to create

innovative solutions. There are an increasing

number of problems in the world today that do not

have an established discipline which addresses

them; problems which are too complex and have

too many stakeholders to be solved through

just one lense or approach. Transdisciplinary

design is meant to bring disciplines together to

work collaboratively on these types of problems,

developing a common working vocabulary. My

classmates are graphic and industrial designers,

computer programmers, photographers,

environmental scientists, dancers, musicians,

journalists etc. There is truly an amazing mix of

people in my program.

Current: How did you end up applying to

Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons after graduating

at ECUAD? What was the transition like for you, were

you prepared?

In my third year at Emily Carr, I was struggling

to figure out where I would fit in as an industrial

designer. The director of the transdisciplinary

design program, Jamer Hunt, was giving a lecture

one night at Emily Carr about his new program

at Parsons. The way he spoke of design really

resonated with me and seemed to open new

doors to the transformative potential of design. I

applied to Parsons while I was in the middle of my

final year at Emily Carr.

I was more prepared for transdesign than I was for

New York. Emily Carr really helped me develop

Our interview with Jayson Rupert was conducted via email

due to the fact that Jayson is now living in New York while

pursing a masters degree at Parsons School of Design.

Jayson graduated in 2010 from Emily Carr’s Industrial Design

program and is now in his second year of of graduate school,

studying transdisciplinary design.

a strong and thoughtful process in my design

practice. Collaborating on my senior project with

Angela Henderson, a fellow classmate and dear

friend, really helped prepare me for the highly

collaborative environment at Parsons. I don’t think

anything can prepare you for living in New York.

Current: What is the New School Collective? What

kind of curriculum/courses do you encounter?

The New School is a collection of schools focused

around social research, international affairs and

the arts. The best part of Parsons being under

the New School umbrella is that I have been

able to take a wide range of courses. So in

addition to my design studio courses, research

methods, seminars and intensives, I have also

been taking graduate level courses in public health

and epidemiology. There are so many amazing

courses to choose from, it’s hard to choose which

area to focus on, but I chose health sciences to

compliment my design background.

Current: What is it like to take a Masters Degree in

New York? How have your experiences at ECUAD

transferred?

Going to school in New York is beyond words,

almost. Everyday is an adventure and there are so

many talented people around to help inform your

work. New York, in general, has so many experts

in so many fields. It can actually be overwhelming.

While at Emily Carr, I was always encouraged to

go beyond the walls of the school, to meet people

and collaborate. The ability to engage outside of

my comfort zone has been incredibly valuable,

especially in New York.

Current: Tell us about your grad project “Insite” and

how this informed your journey as a designer. What

did your experiences with this project lead you to?

The project Angela Henderson and I did with Insite

definitely changed my life. I’m still asked to do

interviews about that experience alone. I guess the

biggest impact that experience had on me was

around the assumptions we often make as people,

which then informs design. I really can’t design

effectively until I’ve experienced the world from

their perspective. Research is critical to effective

sustainable design. My experience with Insite has

helped me see where my heart belongs in design.

I really enjoy helping people, particularly the users,

develop their voice within the design process, and

developing the outcome to be truly reflective of

their needs and desires.

Current: What does design research mean to you?

I guess to me it means contextualizing myself in the

problem; having the best possible understanding

of the problem space in a limited amount of time.

It’s about being effective, quickly getting to the key

issues through literature reviews and then primary

investigating in the field. Ethnographic skills and

communication skills will really help you unearth

important insights. It’s also important to be able

to make connections and to facilitate deeper

discussions about what you discover.

Current: How do you build trust and establish report

in your design research?

That’s probably the hardest part. Building trust

comes with being honest and transparent. People

can often be skeptical of what your intentions

are or what you want from them. It’s important

to respect that skepticism as being valid. It’s my

responsibility as a designer to plan ahead and

make time for participants or co-creators to get to

know me and what the project is about. People

also want to see that you’ve done your homework

and that you have taken the time to prepare for

collaborating. It shows respect and it goes a long

way with people when you are asking them to

share personal information.

Current: How do you see design as a tool for social

impact?

Designers have an appreciation for scale and what

forces are at play within a given problem space. A

design methodology can map systems of abstract

infrastructures, explore leverage points, and frame

them in ways that motivate people to become

interested and participate in the desired change.

People respond well to design when it reflects their

needs and wants in a way that doesn’t dictate

behavior, but demonstrates an opportunity for an

improved outcome.

Current: What is your ambition as a designer?

I’m very interested in public health and designing

health interventions. I would like to use design

methodologies to help develop effective ways

of improving physical and mental health in the

contexts of aging, privacy, addiction, and human

sexuality.

“Designers have an appreciation for scale and what forces are at play within a given problem space.”

INTERVIEW