Who I am
Hi! I'm Chiwon Lee, an aspiring designer studying Information & Interaction Design at Yonsei University. I previously studied Computer Science at Columbia University in the City of New York.
I'm far from being a traditional student, I went to an international school that teaches students how to mime, ride horses, build basketball courts in the Philippines, steer small airplanes, and do other eccentric things. I wish I was joking but I'm not.
I quit the international school and I worked at a start-up and Microsoft before joining Columbia University to study Computer Science on scholarship after earning my high school diploma in Washington state.
In the meantime, my ex-boyfriend who followed me to the United States got married, I found a start-up that allowed me to live briefly in China and Japan, and I interned and worked for a several other companies; after having the opportunity to have had truly colorful experiences, now I'm more than confident that I have found my calling.
I wish to become an Interaction Designer in the future by building a solid foundation at Yonsei University.
I have elaborated on some of my major work and educational experiences below to illustrate what I have been through.
Here's a photo of me:
What I have been through
I had the pleasure of working at multifarious companies since I was a college freshman.
Right after my first semester of college, I joined WonderPeople, which is a mobile application company that is made by Hur Min, the founder of WeMakePrice. My role was the "Manager of USA," which meant that I was supposed to help shape the main mobile application that the company was developing so that it would fit the taste of users in the United States. I had the privilege of going a business trip to New York City to test the company’s mobile application on U.S. soil.
BCG
I worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a Research Analyst in 2017. This is my first time experiencing management consulting, and I learned immensely about it.
The project that my team was focusing on was based on digital transformation and change management for a Tier-1 client.
I cannot specify about the project because I have signed a confidentiality agreement.
I have learned that I enjoy researching about topics that I am unfamiliar with through my experience at BCG.
AT Kearney
I worked as a Research Assistant Intern at AT Kearney for a benchmarking project for a Tier-1 client in 2018.
I learned more about the field that I was researching on, and I was surprised and delighted to indulge in exquisite meals for lunch and dinner paid by the company as I'm a big fan of gourmet food. This is the first time I learned that restaurants now serve Korean beef in an Omakase style, which allows the chef to be creative with the menu.
Thanks to my previous management consulting experience at BCG, I was given the authority to create questionnaires, conduct interviews with professionals, and create the technical report to be shown to the clients.
Although my working hours were very long, I felt like a valued member of my team.
Lion Academy
I worked as an educational consultant for Lion Academy in year 2016 and 2017. I helped students prepare to apply for colleges in the United States by going over their extracurricular activities and school reports.
I also helped them prepare for scholastic exams such as the SAT, AP, and TOEFL.
The team at Lion Academy regularly visited New York City, so I had the luxury of hanging out with my colleagues in New York City. I thought it was pretty cool that I could introduce my boss to my friends at college in New York.
Happy Smile
My time at Happy Smile was meaningful because I worked on the UI/UX Design for the company in 2018. Happy Smile is a start-up that creates educational content for beginners learning Swift, which is the programming language made by Apple for iOS, so I mainly designed the User Interface for mobile application prototypes to be used for the beginner tutorials that Happy Smile made. I cannot say that I’m an expert in the field at all because I have only participated in the creation of the User Interfaces of two mobile application prototypes, and because I barely had guidance on whether I was doing my job correctly as I was the only designer of the start-up.
Samsung Art & Design Institute
I was one of the four recipients to receive a scholarship to study design at the Samsung Art & Design Institute in Seoul, South Korea in 2018.
This is the place where I learned how to use Adobe tools and Nodebox, which is one my favorite graphic tools. I also learned more about the design industry, composition, and other useful information related to design. I studied at Samsung Art & Design Institute for approximately two months.
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
I went to the University of Nottingham’s China campus in 2018 to study Product Design and Manufacture Engineering because I was intrigued with the creations of Jiani Zeng, a MIT graduate student working for the MIT Media Lab after graduating from the program.
I was there for approximately two months. I am confident to say that tropical fruits grown in China are extremely delicious.
Columbia University
I mainly took the rigorous core curriculum at Columbia University while serving as the Social Chair on the Student Council. I was a Computer Science major and I have made lifelong friends from the institution. I am more than happy to call Columbia University the place that inspired me to seriously explore my future career options. Moreover, I can confidently say that Columbia Dining has the best cafeteria food that I have ever had.
Things that I like
I'm highly interested in minimalism, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Motion Graphics, and innovative technology.
I am an avid fan of MIT's Media Lab, which is one of the most innovative labs related to design and technology. I visit their website time to time and I am blown away by the innovations that are presented on the website.
I also am intrigued about projection mapping. Although I know that it is based on science, it looks like a form of magic to me, and the fluidity of the light covering up surfaces that would have either been mundane makes me cry as I fully appreciate the beauty that the projections emanate.
I also like rainbows. Rainbows automatically make me happy. They have been making me happy and amazed ever since I first spotted one on the way home from my father's car. I love that rainbow's are colorful, and the rarity of it being spotted in nature makes it more special.
What I like to learn from the course
I would like to learn more about User Experience and Prototyping. I have a rough concept of what User Experience and Prototyping are in my head, and I would love to have a clearer understanding of what these concepts mean in the status quo by being educated by my professor who is experienced in the field.
I would also love to learn current industry trends, and tools, websites, publications, and other sources to use or refer to when it comes to trying to enhance my ability to deliver a great User Experience.
I would also love to learn more about my professor’s experiences and her interests and insights regarding User Experience. I have experienced various fields before choosing this path, and I have seen that my professor did a doctorate degree in business. Therefore, I would love to hear about my professor’s past experiences as I think she would have a really interesting and inspiring story.
My Dreams
I wish to become an Interaction Designer that works at a large technology company because I would like to learn how interaction design is applied on products that are used globally.
Before that, I hope to go to graduate school. I wish to go to Carnegie Mellon University after graduation because I have learned that their Interaction Design Master's degree program is one of the best on this planet.
Tools that I can use
I can use the following software tools:
Adobe Illustrator (Beginner), Nodebox (Intermediate), Java (Beginner), Keynote (Intermediate), Swift (Beginner), XCode (Beginner)
I wish to add more to the list and increase my ability to utilize these tools during my study at Yonsei University as a student majoring in Information and Interaction Design.
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