Erika Choe
Erika is a multi-disciplinary designer who used to dance professionally. Her current design practice pays homage to her performance background, where she applies her 3D spatial and rhythmic sensitivity to the design of products, experiences, and screens. Before PoD, Erika worked as a strategic designer at branding and marketing agencies, working closely with startups and VC firms like Noom, Qapital, Javits Center, and Story Ventures. She has also independently developed brand strategy and visual systems in rebrands for New Lab-based company 10xBeta, SaaS company Ginkgo, and Mississippi Electric Co-op PRVEPA. Erika graduated from the University of Virginia with honors and supplemented her design training from Parsons, SAIC, and IDEO U. For her thesis, she is interested in sensory perception within our bodies and how that gets integrated into the design of future tech.
Website: erikachoe.com
Arshlavi Auleear
Arshlavi was born and raised on Mauritius Island before moving to New York for college. She received a Bachelor of Architecture from NYiT School of Architecture and Design. After graduating, Arshlavi spent three years working on various large-scale residential and commercial projects for the NYC Department of Buildings. She also has experience working as a freelance photographer and product designer for various Mauritius and New York brands. In the summer after her first year at MFA Products of Design, Arshlavi worked as a Product Strategist Intern at Code and Theory, where she got to contribute to their Amazon Ads Pitch. For her thesis, she is currently studying gender roles in the design industry and how they shape design's future; she hopes to bridge the gap by having more women in leadership positions.
Website: arshi-designs.myportfolio.com
Corey McClelland
Corey is from Southern California and holds a BFA from the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona. He has led the design of digital and physical experiences at Walt Disney Imagineering, frog, and most recently, Teague, where he worked with Axiom Space to design the next space station to replace the ISS. At MFA Products of Design, Corey is actively prototyping objects, environments, and interfaces for human spaceflight. His thesis research focuses on democratizing space and design's role in expanding the notion of 'the right stuff' for the inclusion of a wide range of people in the future of human spaceflight.
Website: designcorey.com
Charvi Shrimali
Charvi was born and raised in Jaipur, India. She graduated from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore, majoring in visual communication and strategic branding. Before joining MFA Products of Design, Charvi worked as an Art Director, Photographer, and Creative Consultant for various brands, ranging from hospitality to textiles. In the summer after her first semester at PoD, Charvi gained experience as a Design Researcher and Strategist Intern at Frontier Design Group, a firm specializing in social impact strategies, facilitation, and organizational development. At Frontier, Charvi worked with clients such as Eventbrite, The Carter Center, and Habitat for Humanity International. Charvi's thesis, Decolonising the Creative Process, focuses on rethinking our approach to co-creation and drawing inspiration.
Website: charvishrimali.com
Kaylan Tran
Kaylan is an NYC-based designer, born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Chinese parents. Growing up in a multicultural environment and learning three different languages simultaneously, she developed a sensitivity to identifying systems and patterns. Before joining MFA Products of Design, Kaylan earned her undergraduate degrees in Business and Graphic Design and worked at various studios, including Gretel and Athletics. Besides design, animal welfare is another one of her greatest callings. Kaylan has been fostering consistently for three years and currently helps run a small Queens-based cat rescue group. Her thesis research focuses on broadening access into the design industry for newcomers from under-represented groups.
Website: kaylantran.com
Jose Achi Martin
Jose was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, earning his BFA in Industrial Design. Before joining the MFA Products of Design program, Jose participated as an industrial designer in an exclusive collaborative program with TRANE and SCAD, designing future AC devices. Jose has also worked in furniture and interior design while interning at Design in Puerto Rico LLC. Most recently, Jose interned with Marchon Eyewear in New York City, designing performance sunglasses for brands including Nike and Converse. For his MFA thesis project, he is currently researching adaptivity in gaming for people with motor disabilities.
Website: josemartindesigns.com
Nihaarika Arora
Nihaarika is a multidisciplinary designer and material enthusiast. She graduated from Parsons School of Design with a Bachelor's in industrial design and a minor in communication design. She has 3+ years of work experience and specializes in consumer product manufacturing. Living between two diverse metropolitan cities—Mumbai and New York—her work hopes to create hybrids between the natural and built environments to generate a positive impact on society. Her knowledge in design and technology, psychology, and systems thinking encourages her to co-create with communities to actively engage them in ecological practices. As a second-year student, she is researching the future of food systems to reimagine diversity in food supply chains and encourage sustainable eating.
Website: nihaarika-designs.com
Monica Albornoz
Monica was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. She is a multidisciplinary designer who applies the tools of design and strategic thinking to solve unique business problems. Monica has worked in production and innovation at local ceramic studios, as well as in digital marketing and graphic design for e-commerce businesses and emerging technology startups. She has freelanced with business management consultancies to help them translate abstract ideas into visual stories. Monica's thesis explores how to remove the barriers to leadership that women face in Latin partner-dance contexts by applying user-centered methodologies to create community-designed solutions.
Website: monicaalbornoz.com
Giancarlo Cipri
Giancarlo is a designer based in New York City. Before joining MFA Products of Design, Giancarlo completed a BS from Fordham University in Business Administration and Finance. His work as Art Director for the Nicholas Raefski fashion label has been highlighted in The New York Times, Vogue, and GQ. He also has collaborated with Bing Lee Studio at MoMA PS1. As a graduate student, Giancarlo developed his Perpetual Sliding Calendar as part of MFA Product of Design's partnership with MoMA's wholesale division. After two years of development, the calendar is now available at all MoMA Design Stores, online, and in their wholesale catalog. Giancarlo's thesis questions what it means to produce and is at the intersection of interactive art and philosophy.
Website: greatestgee.com
Sarah Hackett
Sarah grew up in Connecticut and received her bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Richmond in Virginia. After graduating, she moved to San Francisco, where she worked at different nonprofits before transitioning into a career in advertising. Over the next few years, Sarah gained art direction experience at various ad agencies, including DDB, FCB, and Martin. Her work has been featured in Adweek, and she received a D&AD New Blood Award. In her free time, Sarah pursues projects that seek to highlight issues in our culture, including the gender pay gap. Passionate about finding more purpose in her daily work, she switched from selling products to designing them. For Sarah's thesis research, she studies how humor and playfulness can help adults become more resilient.
Website: ialwayshackett.com
Jaemin Cho
Jaemin is a New York-based Product Designer who enjoys translating complex business needs and ambiguity into crystal-clear design solutions. Originally from South Korea, he earned his bachelor's degree in Industrial & Information Design at Korea University. After graduation, Jaemin worked as a Product Designer at several companies in Seoul, including LG CNS and NAVER. He has designed a range of contexts, including music streaming apps, messenger apps, conversational artificial intelligence, and dashboards. Jaemin joined the MFA Products of Design program to create seamless journeys between digital and physical products. Hi thesis, Beyond the Visuals: Reimagining Digital Accessibility for Blind and Low-Vision Communities, investigates the pressing question of how blind and visually impaired (BLV) users can read and interact with digital images in the post-text era dominated by images.
Website: jaemincho.com
Cathy Tung
Cathy is an experience designer from Taiwan with a background in marketing and management. She's especially interested in the intersection of psychology and user experience design and how it can be utilized to integrate technology into people's lives and improve system efficiency. Before joining the MFA Products of Design, Cathy worked as a project manager in digital-first design agencies, where she collaborated with interdisciplinary teams composed of researchers, strategists, designers, and full-stack engineers. To date, she has designed for Ford, Logitech, Michelin, Quidel, and TED. Cathy's thesis, Designing an Interactive Educational Experience, investigates how remote learning and playing can increase education equality and students' creativity.
Xinyue Wu
Xinyue was born and raised in Zhejiang, China, and attended Hainan University, where she studied management and marketing. After graduating, she gained experience as a product designer at a pet company. So far, she has 26 national patents, with designs including tableware, storage racks, and adjustable cat bowls. Some of the patented products that Xinyue has designed are currently available on the market. At MFA Products of Design, she aims to create more unique experiences and products that switch between different biological perspectives.
Cheryl Zhang
Cheryl was born in Vancouver, Canada, and raised in Beijing, China. She graduated with honors from Parsons School of Design, where she received a BFA in Communication Design. During her undergraduate studies, Cheryl focused chiefly on branding, editorial, and typography design. She has also worked as a packaging designer in a startup company, Amlat LLC., where she designed a series of packaging for children's products and continues to expand the line. Cheryl decided to develop her passion at MFA Products of Design, exploring the inseparable connections between packaging and product design.