The winners of the IDSA Student Merit Awards 2017 will be recognized at the IDSA Awards on Fri., Aug. 18 during the IDSA International Design Conference. For the first time, an all-female slate of winners has emerged. The 2017 honorees are:
- Central District: Chloe Georgiades, IDSA, University of Cincinnati, graduated in April 2017. The Cincinnati native is already working full-time at NewDealDesign in San Francisco. “I’m first and foremost a problem solver, so I think I’d be happy designing almost anything—as long as it’s different, challenging and addressing a real need. I’m interested in applying somewhat of a systematic approach to new and varying scenarios,” she says.
- Midwest District: Erin Rice, IDSA, University of Notre Dame, graduated in May 2017 with a dual concentration in industrial design and visual communications design and joined the Professional Internship Program with the Walt Disney Imagineering design team in Orlando. What’s ahead? “I hope to work in a highly collaborative workplace as a future industrial designer focusing on problem framing, ethnographic research and design for social impact,” she says.
- Northeast District: Sofia Frilund, IDSA, Parsons School of Design, is from Denmark. She earned a BFA in product design in May 2017. “I was very happy that I was able to communicate to the panel the concepts and meaning of my designs,” she says. “My plan after graduation is to start my own design studio or another entrepreneurial project, either solo or with others.”
- South District: Claire Puginier, S/IDSA, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), will graduate in December 2017. “Through my work, I am allowed to imagine better futures for those I love. What more wonderful thing could I be doing with my life?” she asks.
- West District: Judy Leung, IDSA, California College of the Arts was born and raised in Hong Kong. She earned her BFA in industrial design in May 2017 and began an internship with fuseproject in San Francisco. What’s fascinating about ID? “How we’re integrating technology into the materials we use and wear, to create more meaningful solutions,” answers Leung. “I’m interested in the blend and integration between soft and hard goods; utility and fashion—where both the emotional and rational aspect of the solution is considered and woven into our everyday lives.”