Young Designer: Pia Nyakairu

Educational institution: Carleton University (Canada)
Programme: Bachelor of Industrial Design
Year of graduation: 2015

What made you decide to become an industrial designer?

Industrial design as a career path was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. While most people may know their passions early on, I happened to stumble across mine while I was already enrolled at Carleton University for another programme. While there, I learnt about industrial design and made it my goal to be a part of designing memorable and beneficial products.

Being born and raised in Uganda, culture has always played an important role in the way I interact with my surroundings and other people. I wanted to explore different cultures, values and creativity and integrate these findings into designing honest products. Industrial design was my ticket to achieving that.

In your opinion, what types of people are best suited for the profession of industrial design? What is a typical industrial designer like?

As an industrial designer, I believe it is IMPORTANT to be empathetic. Designing beneficial solutions to meet the needs and reflect the values of users is what industrial design is about. What better way to do this, than than to step into the user’s shoes to understand what problem they are facing, and find ways to tackle it.

Where did you study industrial design and what was the most important thing you learned?

I studied industrial design at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. I have to say, those were some of the best years of my life because I learnt so much about myself, what I am capable of and what I want to contribute to society.

The most important thing I learned was to never lose sight of the user! We all come from different backgrounds, have different experiences, values, and needs. The user should essentially be the first and the last person considered during product development. I really believe that integrating culture and personal values into design is important in ensuring the outcome of an impactful and honest product.

That being said, I like to think I’m still learning about industrial design and I’m excited to see what I can do with it.

What do you believe are the major obstacles or challenges for young industrial designers today from a professional standpoint?

I believe some of the challenges young industrial designers face today pertains to the great amount of competition and pressure in the design world. While creating the most aesthetically pleasing portfolio of designs might be important and impressive to prospective employers, we as young designers need to always remember our first lesson that “Form ever follows function”.

That means not primarily focusing on keeping up with metamorphic design trends, to remain a part of the competition, but instead to never lose sight of our imperative mission to design meaningful and user-centred solutions.

Tell us about the projects you are working on now.

Currently, I am working on further developing and researching my industrial design final year thesis project. Despite recently graduating, I wanted to continue exploring the possibilities this project unveiled in order to effectively solve a visible problem.

One of the main issues that exist within physiotherapy practices is the lack of patient adherence to performing required rehabilitation exercises. Patients require constant guidance and support from their physiotherapists, while on the other hand, physiotherapists require effective ways of tracking and monitoring patient progress remotely.

The project consists of a Remote Rehabilitation tool and mobile app that are intended to facilitate an improved communication between Breast Cancer patients and their physiotherapists. The tool tracks patient movements and key vitals (such as blood oxygen levels and heart rate) through the use of ECG sensors and an accelerometer. This information is then sent via Bluetooth to an app that intuitively displays this information for the patient and physiotherapist (who can then provide feedback) to view.

Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals listed by the United Nations, which do you believe represent the most important challenges facing your generation today?

In my opinion, Innovation, Industry and Infrastructure paired with Quality Education represent the most important challenges. Allow me to approach this from a developing country point of view.

Great barriers exist within the education industry today. While there is a focus on other subjects, industrial design and design-thinking are not often taught or introduced to students and leaders. I believe it is important to start fostering innovation primarily through education, in order to build successful, smart, and impactful industries and infrastructures. The challenge lies within laying a strong and knowledgeable foundation in order to gain the skills to effectively and self-sufficiently tackle existing problems.

Thinking of those most important challenges facing your generation, do you believe that industrial design is part of the solution?

Industrial design is definitely part of the solution. It provides an extensive view of the key principles, techniques, and practices needed to implement an innovative solution. Of course, building constructive industries and infrastructures cannot rely on industrial design alone. Instead, in order to tackle such a challenge, a partnership between design, manufacturing, engineering, and psychology, among other respective fields, is vital.

What do you most love about industrial design?

I love that industrial design has played and continues to play such a major role in the growth of the world today. It is incredible to know that by interacting with a user, we can find out what their needs and values are and provide a solution to whatever problem they may be facing. I also love that it is a broad discipline which means different cultures can be explored and can contribute to the honest products we see today.

As an industrial designer, what is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream as a designer is to contribute to the development of more sustainable, affordable and smart products designed for users with limited access to beneficial solutions. I would like to dedicate myself to finding ways to close major gaps in the healthcare system, mainly in less developed countries. Additionally, because I believe education is the key to development, I would like to pass on any knowledge I have on important design principles to fellow creative minds.

How do you see yourself working with Icsid to design for a better world?

I see myself working with Icsid to continue promoting the relevance of industrial design in building and improving the tools we use as a society. Through global initiatives, great developmental goals can be reached that will, as reflected in Icsid’s vision statement, enhance “our social, cultural, economic, and environmental quality of life.”