Tom Igoe Article

I really enjoyed the Tom Igoe article. I love that he thinks the work he find most interesting tends to come from people who call themselves designers. Because many times I feel like I’m more of a designer instead of an artist.

I agree with Tom that not all classes will give you skills that you will use everyday but it might help to try “….. applying new skills to projects that you care about.”

He also mentioned merging both art and design and commercial work as well as some of his students going on to create “either toys or assistive pr physical therapy devices.” This gives me much hope that I can use the skills from this class in ways that I feel comfortable in the future.

During one portion of the article Tom states, “I’m proud of them because they figured out what they really were interested in, and found ways to make a career of it.” I feel like this is the route I go when I learning skills in classes that I don’t think I will every use. I may now use those skills but I can use the experience as a time t problem solve and to also help me realize the things that I actually enjoy doing more.

Tom also stated, “… really has to be experienced in order to understand it.” He was explaining a project and I was hard for me to imagine it. It was the first hand experience that made the work. This is how I imagine my final project will be.

Tom also stated, “You also need the creativity and attention to detail of a good engineer, the insight of a good social scientist, the pragmatism of a good business manager, and more.” I agree 100% because many artist and designers get stuck on the thought that they will have to execute these intense ideas by themselves. But in reality you will have a team or need to find a team of people that can help you make your work the best it can be on all spectrums.  

During one portion of the article time mentions sustainability and technology. This had me really excited because I love the idea of being able to merge these very important topics to create incredible problem-solving tools. I really wish more courses like this were here at UF COTA because our projects could be so much more practical and able to solve real word issues.

At the very end of the article Tom was talking about how his favorite work in the festival was the one that was able to “to address a real problem.” This is exactly what I want to be able to do with my art and design. Address and eventually solve real problems.