Harvard GSD Master in Design Studies Technology
Xiaofei Hong | Harvard GSD | Tongji University
Trust
Xiaofei’s senior friend recommended in-maginative. Then she decided to work with in-maginative after talking with Seth.
“It’s like magic when you talk to Seth. He can always comfort me and make me believe in myself. Our conversations can be super casual. I love to share with him my recent life and interest. Thanks to him, I’ve seen my unique qualities, and I was able to know cool programs or cool projects. I guess he coached me both mentally and academically.”
Do something really cool
Xiaofei pursues a variety of interests. She’s into drawing, photography, editing movies and playing music. She is curious about many directions. Seth saw great potential in her.
“Talking with my in-maginative mentor, my horizon has been broadened. I saw so many possibilities in front of me. When I showed him my previous projects, he said clearly that architecture may not suit me best. It’s not a bad thing, though. Then he started to share information about other potential directions with me. He kept pushing me to think and respond. From this long process of exploration, I got to know that I want to do something really cool, without restraint. I want to keep exploring creative expressions with the methods of technology.”
Program screening: a long journey
Xiaofei spent several months settling on a final direction. She changed her target major many times before she found Master in Design Studies Technology.
“Each time Seth sends me some information about programs that might match my ambition and interest. Then I carefully go through the programs and think over if it's a perfect match. I’ve gone through programs like Art and Public Domain, interior Design, filming, digital media and finally I met MDes Tech, a good balance between technology, art and design. Through this process I learned more about each field, and also myself. I used to tell Seth that I’m in no rush to make it clear where I want to go, but he pushed me to try hard on clarifying it. He’s right. You have to spend time and energy to think it over. Or you will wait and hesitate and will never know.”
Community is a cure
During portfolio development, Xiaofei experienced a period of depression. She took some rest and joined the in-maginative Shanghai community to finish her work.
“I met a group of super nice companions and we helped each other. I gradually managed to focus again. Seth always says that everyone can go through anxiety and depression, and one must believe that the best is yet to come. The community helped a lot. And all his students are nice and smart. I guess that’s what Seth wanted, and the community really works.”
对Seth的信任
Xiaofei由于学姐的推荐而认识了Seth，在她与Seth交谈后，她就决定与in-maginative合作，甚至都没有去找其他任何一家中介。最终结果也证明她的决定是正确的，她得到了她想要的offer。 “和Seth交流就像魔术一样，他总是会让我安心，让我对自己有信心。 我们的对话可以很随意。 我很喜欢和他分享我最近一段时间的生活和兴趣。 多亏了Seth，我才能看到自己的独特之处，并且能够了解这些出色的项目。 我认为他不仅在学业上指导我，同时也在思想上教导我。”
做一些很酷的事情
Xiaofei是一个兴趣广泛的超酷学生，她对很多事情都很感兴趣，比如画画、摄影、电影剪辑和音乐等等。她对很多方向都感到好奇，而Seth看到了她的巨大潜力。 “和Seth交流之后，我的视野变得更加开阔了，我看到了自己所拥有的无限可能。当我向他展示我之前的设计时，他很直接地告诉我，建筑可能不是最适合我的，但这并不是一件坏事。之后他向我分享了有关其他潜在方向的信息。他一直’逼’着我进行思考和回应，在这漫长的探寻过程中，我发现自己想做一件非常酷的、不受束缚的事情，我想一直用技术的方法来探索创意表达。”
项目筛选：一段漫长的旅程
Xiaofei花了几个月的时间才确定了最终的申请方向，在最终选择MDes Tech之前，她多次改变了申请专业。 “Seth每次给我分享的一些关于特定项目的信息，都与我的兴趣和志向相匹配。我在对这些项目进行详细了解之后，进行了深入的思考，判断它到底适不适合我。我考虑过艺术和公共领域、室内实际、规划、数字媒体等方面的项目，最终选择了MDes Tech。这个项目在技术、艺术和设计方面做到了很好的平衡。 在申请的过程中，我对各个领域包括我自己，都有了更深的认识。我曾告诉Seth，我不急于明确自己到底想去哪里，但他仍然推动我去弄清楚。他是对的。你必须花时间和精力来认真地思考，否则你就会在原地踌躇、等待，而永远无法明确自己的目标。”
在工作室是一种治愈
在设计作品集的过程中，Xiaofei经历了一段低谷期。在休息了一段时间之后，她加入了in-maginative上海工作室，和工作室的小伙伴一起完善自己的作品集。 “我在十一月左右搬进了工作室，当时我刚从低谷期中恢复过来。在工作室里，我遇到了一群非常好非常优秀的伙伴，我们互相帮助。我逐渐开始重新集中精力，修改作品集。Seth一直说，每个人都会经历焦虑和沮丧，但必须相信最好的时光虽然还没有来，但终将到来。在工作室的经历给我了很多帮助，Seth的学术都很聪明很友善。我想这就是Seth所希望工作室所具备的功能，而工作室也确实起了良好的作用”