Aiden Hwang

Philosophy:

What is Design to me?

A high-ceilinged studio hall in dim light: rows of white pin-up boards and work tables on the left, blue lounge chairs and potted plants on the right, tall windows letting in a slant of sun
A workbench in a fabrication studio: a blue-and-white lattice model on a green cutting mat, a tablet showing hand-drawn dimensions, and a 3D printer beside a cork wall with one blank sheet pinned to it
In my freshman year, I found comfort in a small workshop, developing my 3D printing skills late at night. This served as the foundation for the research I found later that year.

Design is a medium of expression, similar to music, art, and writing.

You can learn a lot about someone’s personality, values, and goals just by experiencing their work. It’s like reading a book someone left behind, but the pages become windows for your eyes and buttons for your fingers.

When we define Design as a field of study in university or our career, we inadvertently stretch the term thin and miss the nuances it develops in each specific discipline. Engineering design relies on meticulous organization and adherence to regulations, whereas artistic design thrives on freeform thinking and innovation. To me, design is the style we apply to each of the problems we solve. When I 3D print interesting AI devices, I stay close to known tolerance boundaries. When I ideate concepts for those very designs, I need to step back and take everything in from an unconventional perspective.

Core Beliefs

I keep a few beliefs at the core of anything I set my mind on:

  1. Authenticity

    I want each idea, product, and experience I share with others to contain a piece of myself. People buy from famous designers not only because of what they make, but also because of who they are. That’s the feeling I aspire to imbue in my own works.

    Three views of a pinball table built from gray chipboard: the whole cabinet with its ramps, bumpers and flippers, a cutaway of the sloped playfield, and a close view of the small figures and water tower standing on it
    A story of my life experiences

  2. Integrity

    What is carried in my heart will be reflected in the work. Whether I want to or not, my designs will represent me when I’m not in the room with them. As AI blurs the line between human-made and computer-generated content, one’s originality, sincerity, and attention to detail will become priceless.

    A hand adjusts Ditto, a white handheld device with a wide-angle lens on its front face, held outdoors against a blurred backdrop of autumn leaves
    My interpretation of AI

  3. Closure

    I find that many people, including myself at times, tend to leave things unfinished, whether it is a conversation, project, or schedule. I strive to follow through on my endeavors, putting in just a little more effort even when I want to stop, and even if my work isn’t perfect. There’s always more to learn, and putting my best foot forward will help me make the most of any opportunity.

    A process sheet for a trombone hand support: annotated sketches of the grip problem, a row of cardboard mock-ups, six black printed iterations side by side, and photographs of the finished part clamped to the instrument and held in the player’s hand
    Repeated iterations lead to amazing experiences

I believe that design will expand into tangible interfaces in the near future, as AI becomes less of a novelty and more of a tool that integrates into daily life. And I really hope to be there when it happens, both on the making end and the receiving end.

If my perspective resonates with you, let’s get in touch!

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