Design Autobiography

Designer Profile 11&12

Mark O’Bryan

Mark O’Bryan is a brilliant architect that primarily secular work with churches and other religious centers to update their designs. He graduated from UK in the 1980’s. He developed a general interest in architecture through testimonials from his peers about how much they enjoyed it. After graduating he moved to Louisville and developed his own brand. The logo for his company features a labyrinth design that has become his trademark. From this point Mark began his excursion through a variety of churches throughout Louisville. He also completed a historical restoration project that ultimately won him an award. At this point in his life Mark focusing on teaching and making sure his students get an opportunity to see the world through trips he plans to Europe and Chicago each year.

Mark finds his greatest inspiration comes from religious imagery and combination of both old and new techniques. He describes his aesthetic as mid-century modern and is drawn toward natural materials and processes. He also experiments with many different mediums including photography, painting, and sketches. When describing the future, Mark sees 3D modeling as something that will continue to grow and develop. He also places a lot emphasis on making meaningful work that is morally sound and technically effective.

Lindsay Fay

Lindsay is a young designer with great aspirations in the field of hospital architecture. From a very young age she developed an interest in the field through projects such as remodeling the playground for her elementary school. She was also immediately drawn to the aerial plan view that is used by most architects. Lindsay believes in focusing on research of the impact and effectiveness of design. Lindsay acquired her masters of Science and architecture at the University of Cincinnati.  While working for her masters, she received a travel grant to go to California, and it was here that she got her first experiences with customized design for individual clients. Now Lindsay teaches a healthcare design studio class, where she hopes to inspire the young minds of the future to come up with practical solutions for out hospitals. She also attempts to expose her students to expand their cultural view through trips to Thailand each year.

Mrs. Fay believes the 4 areas of focus that all designers should adopt is research, teaching, professional work, and service opportunities. She definitely actively participates in each one of these categories, and continues to search for sustainable practices to implement into healthcare designs. In the future Lindsay hopes that more people will take interest in giving back and supporting local programs such as habitat for humanity. She also hopes her students to utilize design to impact and change societal issues and addressing global issues.

Designer Profile 9&10

Randall Vaughn

Mr. Vaughn is a talented designer currently working for Gray Construction. At Gray he is the President of Architecture Engineering Group and focus primarily on automotive work. Randall truly has a passion and a love for design, and appreciates both old techniques and new technology. One of his favorite pastimes is exploring neighborhoods with his wife and quizzing her on her knowledge of design elements through architecture. He truly believes that design is something that encapsulates every aspect of our lives, and as an element that has allowed him to see the world clearly. Mr. Vaughn continues to hold tightly to the traditional principles of design- that function is more important than aesthetics. He believes when things are made well the first time they can stand the test of time.

In the future Randall sees electric cars, digital media, and the synchronization of various areas of design and architecture. He also believes that 3D design will continue to progress and become a primary form of media.

Helen Turner

When Helen describes her story one word comes to mind, opportunity.  Helen never intended on becoming a designer but because of a certain series of event she did. She attended college and Ohio University and received a degree in interior architecture. After graduating she applied to many design firms and ended up working at smaller, local company. Here she got to express herself and gain exposure to many different facets of design. However, after working in the field for a while Helen decided her true passion was teaching, and she moved to Cincinnati to attend Graduate School. This decision landed her many great opportunities included that chance to have an all expense paid trip to Pompeii for an archeological dig. Currently, this is her 5^th year teaching design at UK, and she is very happy that this is where she ended up.

Helen places importance on both functionality and creativity. She believes that design impacts our environment in both positive and negative ways, and tries to find ways to give back and help out this community. In the future she sees sustainability and an emphasis on green design. Eco-friendly is a new motto many designers are trying to live by and it is having great impact on society as a whole.

Designer Profiles 7&8

Tim Lucas

Mr. Lucas is a registered architect that also teaches a professional practice, and has had a variety of experiences in the field.  Tim believes there are two components to the world of architecture the scholastic and reality. Tim attended high school in Boone County where he developed his interest in architecture. After graduation he decided to attend UK and ultimately received his bachelors of Arts and Architecture. From there Tim gained a lot of experience through traveling in Venice and classes in mechanical drawing. Ultimately he became the acting director of the Lexington Technical Institute. Through the melding of two components Tim officially became a designer in his mind. He worked for a variety of architecture firms and expanded both his style and his mind to the many ways of utilizing his skill.

Tim believes it is extremely important to cater to the clients needs. He believes design is more than just sculpting or creating space. For Tim, design has embedded itself into his life and has become absorbed in all facets. In the future Mr. Lucas believes collaborations between design disciplines will become necessary. Also he feels as though computers have enabled us to build to our wildest dreams.

Melody Farris- Jackson

This designer is currently a teacher for first year architecture students here at UK. Melody has been greatly inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawings throughout most of her career, to the point where it has greatly impacted her own unique style. After graduating from the College of Architecture Melody involved herself in many different mediums. From birthday cards, to paintings, to posters, Melody continued to expand her work throughout her early career. Possible one of her biggest achievements is when she became art director for the World Equestrian Games in 2010. During these games she actually created a poster that would be frequently used for branding for this event. Following this Melody moved toward construction and began designing buildings for companies such as IKEA and Nike.

Melody believes design is an unpredictable road trip, and by challenging herself with different materials she is able to improve her skills and experience a wide variety of client demands. Through her work she has learned that good design does not have to be very expensive, because if it is a good design it will not have to constantly be redone. In the future Melody believes it is important for designers to give back, and that design as a whole is heading toward a collaborative path. She believes a new career will be implemented that blends both architects and engineers.

BP: Designer Profile 5-6

Adriane Grumbein

This young designer is currently a Professor at the Integrated Strategic Communication with a strong focus on advertising. In high school she had a lot of experience with website design where she was able to determine that the artistic route was not for her, and that the technicality behind advertising was her main focus. Adriane believes art and design are vastly different. For her design is just a problem to be solved. It is an all-encompassing aspect of our society that coincides with the growth of big data. She also asserts that even though she is unattached to the art world she still believes the principles of standard art are necessary for successful advertising, such as color theory and design principles.

Adriane believes that as the world continues to become more visual, designers will be able to act as a filter for condensed information that is easily accessible. She also states that current ad agencies are joining forces with coding experts and technological gurus. Overall, Adriane’s biggest philosophy is self- branding. Without the creation of an iconic association with your name, a designer cannot succeed.

Joe Ray- Barreau

Joe is currently an architect and light-designing expert. Starting out at a young age with building tree houses, Joe knew that he was destined to be an architect. As a young man, the Cuban decided to attend UK and attain a master’s degree in community development. Later he began working as a draftsman and teaching in the design program at UK. Ultimately he discovered that the fundamental of lighting was his true calling.

This architect transformed into a lighting specialist who believes that LED lights will soon take over the world. This form of lighting is more efficient, less expensive, and has the ability to take many shapes and colors. Joe believes this is the future of the world that will permanently change how we view electricity. Finally lighting can stop being stagnant and can become a responsive entity of our daily interaction.