Meet the Alumni: Class of 2015
May Sun
May is a Senior Product Designer at Google in New York City. Previously, she was employed as a Product Designer at Marquee, Goldman Sachs' digital marketplace for institutional investors. Passionate about solving business challenges, May designed and built CoFoundersLab. She also volunteers as a mentor at BUILT BY GIRLS, a 1:1 mentorship program that connects young women and non-binary students with professionals who work in tech and are passionate about helping the next generation of industry leaders get their start. May earned her BFA in Industrial Design from China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Before joining MFA Products of Design, May's artwork Her Nature was acquired by the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum for their permanent collection in Beijing, China. May's thesis, Her Sense: Women, Technology and Intervention, is aimed at helping women in the workplace by creating technology that builds confidence.
Website: may-sun.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/may-sun-design
Brandon Washington
Brandon is an Art Director and Designer at the Reed Art Department (formerly known as Staple Design) in New York City. Since graduating from MFA Products of Design, Brandon has enjoyed a productive freelance career, designing for companies such as MKG Experiential Marketing, Mother, and The Future Project. He has been a Scenic Designer for QVC, a Retail Designer for Coach, and a Studio Assistant for Chen Chen and Kai Williams. Brandon earned his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design Technology from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Brandon's thesis, The Spectacle (an investigation into Guy Debord’s theory of the same name), takes the form of an intervention, aiming to wake people up, expose them to alternative ways of thinking, get them in touch with their desires, and express their true selves.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/brandoffwashington
Eliz Ayaydin
Eliz is a User Experience Researcher at Atlassian in Sydney, Australia. Previously, she was a Senior User Experience Researcher at Sendle. After graduating from MFA Products of Design, Eliz worked as a design and innovation strategist at companies including fuseproject, Lippincott, Doblin, and Swirl McGarryBowen. Eliz has helped early-stage startups and big brands like Samsung and Google discover user needs, uncover key insights, get clear on their vision, (re)invent their offerings, and bring their products to market. With a BA in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies from Vanderbilt University, Eliz came to the PoD program positioned at the overlap between design and psychology. While at SVA, she applied various design methods to multidisciplinary projects, including a smart-pregnancy-device concept featured in renowned publications such as Fast Company. Her thesis, entitled I Was There When, explores how people deal with traumatic memories.
Website: elizayaydin.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/eliz-ayaydin-484a1a28
Lance Green
Lance is a Designer at Goldman Sachs in New York City. After completing his MFA at Products of Design, he worked as a Senior Designer at PSFK, and then as a Senior Designer at Human Condition Global. He also freelanced for Infor and Unreasonable Women at New Lab in Brooklyn. A Texas native, Lance attended the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his BFA in Design. His thesis, entitled Grey Space, focuses on the spaces in which urbanites often find themselves—working between the home and the office. The project’s design offerings encourage user adaptation within these spaces by removing feelings of displacement and helping to adjust to new or unfamiliar working environments.
Website: LNCGRN.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lance-g-946a4b65
Lucy Knops Park
Lucy is a New York-based Designer and Creative Strategist. She is the Founder of Lucy Park and the Co-Founder of Trouble Makers Inc.—known for their Critter Bitters line of cocktail bitters. Previously, she was the Brand Creative Senior Manager at Mara Hoffman, and the Creative Director of OTEM, a new direct-co-consumer fine jewelry maker. Immediately upon graduating from Products of Design, Lucy was a Strategist at Sub Rosa in NYC. Lucy holds an undergraduate degree in History from New York University. In addition to launching new businesses, she has shown at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and presented at New York Fashion Week. Her work has been featured online at Core77, Archinect, Food&Wine, and Epicurious. Her thesis, entitled The Void: Finding Value in Nothing, sought to reframe the “role of absence” in people’s daily lives.
Website: lucypark.co
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lucy-knops-2a412187
Steve Hamilton
Steve is a Designer in Residence responsible for Branch Transformation at Ponce Bank and teaches design led research in the Transdisciplinary Design MFA Program at Parsons in New York City. As founder of Spin Cycle Post, Steve pioneered digital post-production workflows for independent feature films throughout the 90’s and 00’s, collaborating with filmmakers including Ang Lee, Hal Hartley, Michael Almereyda, visual artists Matthew Barney, Pierre Huyghe, and Mika Rottenberg, and Choreographers Trisha Brown and Cathy Weis. His own work has been featured at The New Museum, The Queens Museum of Art, and Art-In-General. His thesis, entitled Enough is the New More: Reframing Scarcity to Feel Like Abundance, was presented in May 2015.
Website: iamstevehamilton.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/steve-hamilton-23009910
Julia Plevin
Julia Plevin is a nature-centered designer, strategist, and writer based in San Francisco. She is the creator of The Forest Bathing Club and author of The Healing Magic Of Forest Bathing (Ten Speed Press 2019). Julia is also the co-founder of Trouble Makers Inc., a design collaborative aiming to make challenging issues more digestible. They received an Awesome Without Borders grant, a Core77 Award, and press for their first product, Critter Bitters, which aims to change the attitude around eating insects. Julia has previously worked with IDEO and SYPartners and has experience leading creative teams around the world. Her writing has been published in The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, and VentureBeat. Julia holds a BA in History from Dartmouth College. Her thesis, Gowanus Outdoors Club: A Field Guide to Soliphilia, was presented in May 2015.
Website: juliaplevin.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/julia-plevin-4075948
George Crichlow
George is the Founder of Kynsho and the Strategy Director of ROCHAMEAU. He has collaborated with brand and digital agencies, including Wolff Olins and AKQA. George's work includes leading the strategic re-positioning of the MapQuest brand, developing a line extension for Starbucks, and creating a strategic vision for the WindowsPhone. With over ten years of experience as a Brand and Digital Consultant, George has inspired designers and engineers to invent new offers and influenced how media buying agencies create compelling brand messaging. Now he makes and advises companies on creating commercially and culturally relevant products, services, and experiences. George holds a Bachelor's degree from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
Website: georgecrichlow.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/georgecrichlow
Miguel Olivares
Miguel is an Associate Product Manager at Scientific American in New York City. Previously, he was a Fellow at SVA's Groundfloor Incubator, where he developed a social venture called Mobile Market to bring fresh produce and healthy package-free goods to food deserts. Miguel’s love for food and design started during a workshop at the Domaine de Boisbuchet, France, where he began to study the physical, emotional, and experiential benefits associated with cooking. Miguel has also made furniture for private clients and continued his art production, exhibiting in galleries and outdoor events. Miguel holds an undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. His thesis, In Knead: Rebuilding Intent in Our Relationship with Food, examines the importance of how food can be a material for design.
Website: maozdesign.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/miguel-olivares-53346717
Vidhi Goel
Vidhi is a Senior Service Designer and Strategist at Providence in Seattle, Washington. Previously, she held Experience Researcher and Strategist roles at projekt202, EchoUser, and IA Collaborative. Vidhi has worked for clients worldwide, including Xerox, Qualcomm, Discover, FedEx, and Amgen. While at MFA Products of Design, Vidhi interned at The Meme as a research and strategy consultant for Samsung, Pill Pack, and Healthbox. Vidhi has worked on projects ranging from creating banking services for rural India to designing smart pregnancy devices—a student project featured in Fast Company. Originally from India, Vidhi received her undergraduate degree in Industrial Design from Srishti School of Art Design and Technology in Bengaluru. Her thesis, entitled Kona: Changing Perspective on Learning in India, was presented in May 2015.
Website: vidhigoel.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/vidhig
Andrés Iglesias
Andrés is a Salvadoran designer, currently based in Boston as a Product Designer at Drizly. Previously, Andrés was employed as a UI/UX Designer at Go Ahead Tours, a Designer at Wundersauce, and a Footwear Designer at Schwilliamz Create Consultants. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, working in the model-making department at Hasbro Inc. during his junior year. Andrés has been shaped by a life of constant travel and dreams of opening a design firm in Latin America one day. His thesis, entitled Shift: A Proposal to Lift Community Morale, explores the continuum of optimism.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jose-andres-iglesias-melendez-b6a85125
Berk Ilhan
Berk Ilhan is a New York-based product and experience designer whose work focuses on bringing humanity, delight, and empathy to technology. His designs have been recognized by over 15 international design awards, including the Red Dot Best of the Best and iF Design Award, and he has been featured on numerous television networks including CNN. As the Director of Innovation and Strategy for 10XBeta, Berk designed many products for company's global clients including KLM, PUMA, NRG, as well as health technology startups such as Inspiren and Myovue. In addition, he co-created a Design Thinking curriculum for Thomas Jefferson University's JeffSolves Incubation Program, and co-directed the program for three years. A native of Turkey, Berk holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Design from Middle East Technical University, Ankara. His graduate thesis, entitled Uplift: Happiness & Communication in the Context of Cancer, has enjoyed considerable renown.
Website: berkilhan.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/berkilhan
Elisa Werbler
Elisa is the Associate Creative Director at the Martin Agency in New York City. In the years following her graduation from MFA Products of Design, Elisa was a Senior Art Director at Red Antler. She has worked with organizations including Mother New York, IDEO, Etsy, Casper, Allbirds, Android Pay, Google, Anthropologie, Coach, Kate Spade, and Princeton Architectural Press. Elisa has a strong background in designing and making products, both physical and digital, and ranges from hand-held objects to complete spaces. Her work has been exhibited at New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and in several online publications including DesignSponge, DailyCandy, and DesignMilk. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received her BFA in Furniture Design with Honors. Elisa's thesis, entitled Things, explores how we ascribe value to our everyday possessions.
Website: elisawerbler.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/elisa-werbler-0663bb1b
Heath Wagöner
Heath is a designer and design activist residing in Brooklyn and is currently a Consultant at Angora Group. Previously, he was a Venture Fellow at SVA's Groundfloor Incubator. Since graduating from MFA Products of Design, Heath has designed for dining experiences for American Express to working as a Color and Material Specialist for Nike Vision at Marchon Eyewear. Holding a BFA in Metalsmithing, Heath was a T-Fellow at the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator. He also works closely with Visual AIDS on various projects such as co-managing their partnership with Story Corps. Prior to joining PoD, Heath worked in the fashion industry for acclaimed jewelry designer Pamela Love, consulted for designers such as Harbison Collection, Juniper Design, and TUZA jewelry, and run his own line of bespoke men’s accessories. His thesis, Disclosional: Creating Conversation Around, In, and Outside HIV, explored the power of open and honest conversations.
Website: heathwagoner.com
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/heath-wagoner-38085068
Lusha Huang
Lusha is an Assistant Professor at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in China. Previously, she was a Ph.D. Student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining MFA Products of Design, Lusha earned a BA in Industrial design at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Her work has been recognized in various international design competitions, such as the IF Design Award, and holds five patents. After her graduating, Lusha was hired as an Industrial Designer at Pip Tompkin Studio and at Quirky, and interned at littleBits. Her graduate thesis, entitled It’s Chinese to me: Luck and Cultural Empathy, explored the disconnect between Chinese and American culture.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lushahuang