How Teacher Mentors Advance Art and Design Career - Jon Kolko

In Chapter 16 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, designer and educator Jon Kolko shares how three teachers have been great mentors in his life, shaping his personal and professional approach. The first, his ceramics teacher, teaches him a Buddhist approach to living. The second mentor, Richard Buchanan, founded the Carnegie Mellon design school and influences Kolko in his writings. The third mentor, Robert Fee, mentors Kolko while he teaches at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). There Kolko learns to treat teaching challenges as design problems. Kolko is the executive director of design strategy at venture accelerator, Thinktiv (www.thinktiv.com). He is the founder and director of the Austin School for Design (www.ac4d.com). Previously, he worked at frog design and was a professor of Interactive and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He has authored multiple books on design. Kolko earned his Masters in Human Computer Interaction (MHI) and BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Learning by Teaching - Jon Kolko

In Chapter 17 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, designer and educator Jon Kolko shares why he teaches. He finds teaching an incredible learning process. Kolko does not see teaching as purely altruistic; rather, he finds balance between making a contribution and selfishly learning from his students. Kolko is the executive director of design strategy at venture accelerator, Thinktiv (www.thinktiv.com). He is the founder and director of the Austin School for Design (www.ac4d.com). Previously, he worked at frog design and was a professor of Interactive and Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He has authored multiple books on design. Kolko earned his Masters in Human Computer Interaction (MHI) and BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Learning by Using Left and Right Brain Thinking - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 1 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings shares how he defines success by blending left and right brain thinking in his professional pursuits. Early in his career, Stallings, educated in studio art, psychology, and economics, focuses on analytical left brain pursuits. Over time, Stallings transitions more toward emotional and intuitive right brain exercises. He learns the most complex decisions are best made minimizing time spent thinking about them. Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

How Interdisciplinary Studies Develop Career Path - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 4 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings shares how blending social science and arts studies at University of Virginia (UVA) shaped his career. Stallings first focuses on economics and, having the luxury of not having area requirements, then focuses on psychology. He channels his passion trying to understand people and their behavior. Over the years, Stallings works in business trying to understand personal decision making and then in creative roles understanding how market mechanisms work.

Hammans Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen:  How did blending your studies of social sciences and the arts at the University of Virginia impact your career development?

Hammans Stallings:  I was pretty spoiled in that I was allowed to be in a program that at UVA where we didn’t have any area requirements and so I’d spent the first two years really knocking out the economics and that allowed me to really explore and move into a much more an interdisciplinary academic approach, more so than I think most people are able to do, we didn’t have any area requirements so I came in, was able to take graduate classes pretty quickly and work in labs, in psychology and – and for whatever reason, the – this contrast of economics and psychology really was this – this kind of an annoying bug.  They had so many assumptions about people and behavior and how things work that are in contrast that drove me nuts for years and so I kind of in a lot of ways, there’s this –that has actually kind of come through with me throughout all of my – all of my jobs since.  I spent time in – in business, thinking about how poorly understood people are. 

I spent time - a little bit now - in the creative world where there isn’t a really sharp understanding of how market mechanisms work and why businesses are sort of strange in a way that people are too.  Organizations are made of people and they have their own kind of strange psychology and so I think that early experience in academics really prepared me for studying in my later career across functional areas and so I’ve been much more of a generalist than I have been a specialist.  You know I’ve – maybe it taught me the value of it and as well it gave me something to always kind of be struggling with in terms of like reconciling things and it’s that letting your subconscious kind of reconcile things and being able to live and sleep with that – you know that –that stress that I think you’re able to come out with interesting solutions that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise if you just so deeply believed any one thing. 

So, I think that’s kind of, I love more than anything bringing kind of an interdisciplinary approach and seeing how all these different areas, different people, and different perspectives in their own contexts see this elephant differently and I think that’s kind of a neat future is you know reconciling all these things and see kind of at the intersection, what do you learn.

How Quant Models Help Understand Human Behavior - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 5 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings shares how quantitative decisions tools can help understand human behavior. He notes how both economics and psychology have gone through arcs thinking about people independently in their respective models. Stallings notes that analytic models that capture base assumptions allow you to capture differences to compare and contrast behavior against the model. Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

How to Create Jobs Using Technology Transfer - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 9 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings connects his interest in economic development to earn a Masters Degree in Technology Transfer. As a problem solver, Stallings sees a gap between academic research innovating and business markets implementing. He learns about mutual motivations and structuring contracts to facilitate technology transfer. Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

How Kellogg MBA Leads to Design Career - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 11 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings shares why he left a strategy job at Dell to earn a Kellog MBA at Northwestern University. He chooses to study consumer marketing and build upon his psychology education. This focus leads Stallings to discover designers and their passion for psychology, including ethnographic research, heuristics, and schema. Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

How Kellogg MBA Sets Job Search Priorities - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 12 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings shares how he sets job search priorities before graduating from Northwestern with a Kellogg MBA. Stallings finds an venture capital internship too similar to investment banking. He learns that top venture capitalists often have deep operations experience. Stallings chooses to find work where he can gain operations experience working across industry verticals. Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

How Educator Plans Career Aspirations - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 1 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares her aspirations. She always wanted to live in Austin and be an educator, but learns that to be a great educator it is critical to be a practitioner as well. She pursues her goals that then allow her to move to Austin to work and teach in design. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

How Teenager Learns Work Ethic From Parents and Music Job - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 3 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares how her parents and music industry teenage jobs shaped her work ethic. Her parents teach Serota the value of hard work and balance. Her music public relations jobs teach her the importance of not only building relationships but also to meet someone with an open mind. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Why Choose SCAD to Study Industrial Design - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 4 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares who she came to choose Savannah College of Art and Design, or SCAD, for college. Interested in industrial design, Serota also considers another top school, the Rhode Island School of Design, or RISD. Ultimately, the curriculum, culture, and location inform her decision to stuy in Savannah. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen:  Why did you choose to study at the Savannah College of Art and Design instead of RISD?

Lauren Serota:  So I found out about the Savannah College of Art and Design.  I was in high school.  I really liked making stuff.  I was into sculpture.  I had a fantastic art teacher who pretty much gave me my own – like she made my own class, so she’s like ‘we’re gonna make a 3D design II just for you, and you can go play with clay all day and build things out of wood.  So she knew that I wanted – I knew that I wanted to build things or make things for a living, and she knew that I was probably going down that path as well, and so we had people from SCAD that came to my high school.  And I knew that I wanted to go to art school. 

I looked at like, you know, the local state schools like ASU, U of A, and then RISD was in the ranks, and then the SCAD people came, and I had never heard of the school prior to them.  And I said ‘oh, this is kind of a cool option.’  They have this budding industrial design program.  It seems it’s something I might be into.  I’m gonna go visit colleges, so I’ll visit RISD and I’ll visit SCAD.  So I went to RISD first, and, you know, it’s a beautiful campus.  It’s in Providence.  It’s hilly.  They have this great program at Brown where you can go take classes at Brown.  It was really compelling, but I just didn’t like the northeast.  I never gelled with the people, and the industrial design program my perception then was that it was really more based on form giving and style and making things beautiful in the sculpture of product. 

And when I went out to SCAD, first of all, I fell in love with the city.  Savannah is beautiful, warm, with weird stuff going on, the Spanish moss, it’s kind of spooky, and so I loved that.  And then the industrial design program was focused on process.  So it was like ‘oh we have a problem that we’re solving by – you know, we’re going through this process to solve the problem, at the end of it is a product,’ and now I know that at the end of it is a product, a service, a reorganization, or nothing, but I really appreciated that there was this – the kind of regimented, scientific thing that they went through that made a lot of sense, and it started with the people. 

So I started learning about the people, that were going to be using the thing that they’re making, and they explained it really well.  And the program was growing, they were moving into a new building, and it just seemed like something I wanted to be a part of.  It just seemed like the right fit.

What Makes a Near-Peer Mentoring Relationship Valuable - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 5 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares how mentor Jon Kolko encouraged her independence and built her self-confidence. While studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Serota forges a mentoring relationship her professor, Kolko. Only a few years older than Serota, Kolko provides presence and encouragement as a mentor to help Serota gain confidence in her work and become more independent in her aspiration. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

What are the Career Benefits of Volunteering - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 12 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares how volunteering has impacted her learning and development. Serota finds volunteering a supplement to her work experience. Volunteering allows Serota to make a community contribution while getting an opportunity to learn. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

How Designer Learns by Teaching Graduate School - Lauren Serota

In Chapter 15 of 18 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, interaction designer and researcher Lauren Serota shares why she teaches. She teaches to learn from aspiring young design professionals coming from different backgrounds and skills. Serota orchestrates the room by facilitating idea exchange and sharing, resulting in a powerful classroom learning experience. This not only inspires Serota but also informs her work at frog design. Serota is an interaction designer at frog design - http://frogdesign.com - and a professor at the Austin Center for Design - http://ac4d.com . She earned her bachelors degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

How Theatre Students Learn and Interpret Entrepreneurship - Bijoy Goswami

In Chapter 4 of 15 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami shares how Norwegian students gave him a fresh perspective on entrepreneur experience. Goswami lives in Austin, TX, where he develops models, including MRE, youPlusU, and Bootstrap, to help others live more meaningfully. He teaches his models through community activism, lectures, writing, and online communication. Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software. Goswami graduated from Stanford University, where he studied Computer Science, Economics, and History.

How to Cultivate a Passion for Teaching - Bijoy Goswami

In Chapter 7 of 15 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami shares how he cultivated his teaching passion. He learns when and how to use teaching as a communication tool. He finds he learns more from teaching that what he gives. Ultimately, Goswami finds the greatest reward when a student applies what he teaches to their lives. He reflects back on his childhood and the formative teaching experiences that have shaped who he is today. Goswami lives in Austin, TX, where he develops models, including MRE, youPlusU, and Bootstrap, to help others live more meaningfully. He teaches his models through community activism, lectures, writing, and online communication. Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software. Goswami graduated from Stanford University, where he studied Computer Science, Economics, and History.

How Parents Encourage Child's Creative Development - Chris Hinkle

In Chapter 2 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, product designer and software engineer Chris Hinkle shares how his parents have allowed him to develop as a creative. Hinkle challenges authority early and through his journey, his parents, classically trained musicians, support his decisions, including dropping out of high school as a freshman. They allow Hinkle to make his own choices, including helping him move to Florida to live with artists. This allows Hinkle not only to become more creative but also more confident and independent. Hinkle currently designs products and develops software for The Barbarian Group digital marketing services company. Previously, he worked at HUGE and R/GA digital advertising agencies. He has also founded a product incubation laboratory, The Hinkle Way.

How Music Education Applies in Product Design Career - Chris Hinkle

In Chapter 3 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, product designer and software engineer Chris Hinkle shares how growing up around a family of musicians influenced his development as a creative professional. Hinkle learns to be more emotionally expressive in his music and later channels that approach in his programming and product design work. Hinkle currently designs products and develops software for The Barbarian Group digital marketing services company. Previously, he worked at HUGE and R/GA digital advertising agencies. He has also founded a product incubation laboratory, The Hinkle Way.