Design is an iterative process of bringing an idea to reality; some call this facilitation, and others call this the act of managing creativity. I feel that teaching design is much like actually conducting design work - it requires an appropriate balance between technology and aesthetics, and demands a great deal of commitment to making life better for people. This is true both on the teaching side and the learning side; I absolutely do not believe that designers have any sort of innate or special power that separates them from the rest of the world. While some may have an aptitude for drawing or a mind for problem solving, anyone can learn the design process and master the tools and techniques necessary to practice design.

It is with this in mind that I claim the one and only fundamental quality a student of design must have to become a successful designer is passion. I refer to a passion about design, but I also refer to this sense of passion on a larger level - a worldly level, or perhaps a selfish level. The students that I have seen succeed in both university and in "real life" are those that desperately and brilliantly desire success. I have seen students who "cannot draw" become the top sketch artists in their class; I have seen students identify a particular job during their freshman year and work day and night to secure that job - and secure it successfully. While design requires a set of skills, these skills can be learned by anyone. It is those that desire success the most that will advance the furthest.

There are certainly specific tools and techniques that must be mastered during the process of learning, and these tools and techniques may separate one particular niche of design from another. But as I contemplate the success of my students, as they enter the professional world and begin their careers, I have begun to believe strongly in an individual field of Design. This field transcends the arbitrary niche boundaries that have been created by particular design techniques or software packages; it is a field of thinking and problem solving, and as Richard Buchanan has long since proclaimed, Design is indeed a new liberal art of technological culture. Designers exist to humanize technology, to make the world better, and to communicate, and Design education exists for the same reasons.

This is the heart and soul of my teaching philosophy. I exist in the classroom not to impart wisdom or produce knowledge where there was only data. Instead, I exist to set up a world rich with passion. I am specifically interested in helping students develop a passion for issues and methods of contextual research, rapid prototyping and iterative design, usability engineering, and visual interface design.

I demand excellence from my students, and I demand excellence from myself, and I can, and have, pushed students to truly realize where their inner-fire can take them. I teach in order to learn, and to learn the most, I need to be surrounded by brilliantly engaged designers. It is this circle of thinking that has enabled me to enjoy teaching at a young age, and to help structure and frame my own understanding of design and design education.