Interview: Jillian Britany Davis prefers problem solving through three-dimensional form

Jillian Britany Davis is a recent graduate from North Carolina State University's Industrial Design program. Presently, she is living and working in Raleigh, designing and producing exhibits for A. Brothers Associates.

She prefers problem solving through three-dimensional form and find inspiration in ordinary objects that don't work the way they should. According to her, design and creative thinking are powerful tools that can be used to enhance and facilitate the lives of others.

More coming up from the designer herself, just after a little jump,

jillian britany davis

1. How did you get into the field of designing? And what part do you most enjoy about being an industrial designer?

Jillian: I started out studying architecture, but then realized I wanted to design things I could build myself, so switched to product design. I like researching products and observing people. You can get a lot of clues about what to do with a design just by studying the way things have been done in the past.

2. How design and creative thinking are powerful tools that could be used to enhance and facilitate the lives of others?

Jillian: There are so many uses where design helps. For example, electronics and interaction design, medical applications, exhibits and communications design. My interest right now is helping people with everyday problems.

3. How are you able to find inspiration in ordinary objects that don't work the way they should?

Jillian: I find inspiration in the challenge of re-designing an object that requires a lot of problem solving to make it a better piece. For some reason I seem to tackle objects that are ordinary, or 'boring' to the average consumer, and then try and add a fresh spin on it to call attention to that object and hopefully give it the recognition it deserves. I tried to do that with my dish rack design, adding the feature of collapsibility to target a new market of people living in smallish spaces and hopefully adding a playful spirit to the design.

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4. You were a Student Merit Award Winner (2006), won second prize for New York International Auto Show (2007) and received Faculty Book Award (2007). Here I'd like to ask, how have these kinds of recognitions benefited you career wise?

Jillian: Most importantly, each of these things has really boosted my confidence. I know that design is definitely what I should be doing, and I am on the right path.

5. Please make our readers aware of your Hammock Lounge Couch?

Jillian: The idea is that Americans are working harder, longer hours to maintain their competitive edge, and people need a 'getaway', so to speak, when they come home. It's meant to make you feel like you're on vacation in your own home, which is the feeling you get when you are rocking in a hammock.

6. Your Apollo Holographic GPS System is simply amazing, I'm curious to know what is the reference signal used to decode the quantum holographic information in the absence of classical space/time signals?

Jillian: The design is intended to use GPS technology to respond to a pre-programmed database of dangerous turns in the road (based on number of accidents that happened there) and produce a holographic projection to guide the vehicle around the curve in the road.

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7. What are the themes that come out in what consumers are responding to?

Jillian: I think consumers are looking for a fresh take on a product. They want something geared to their specific needs and desires, something that fits their niche.

8. How far do you believe in the aesthetics and ergonomics of your created products?

Jillian: There are some things that are working. I do my best + try to learn from my mistakes.

9. Where do you see yourself, let's say, five years, down the line?

Jillian: I hope to create a design for a product and see it brought to market.

10. Finally, we'd like to have your views on Coolbuzz.org?

Jillian: You review enough of a variety of different types of things that it keeps me coming back to look for more!

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A few questions in quick succession:

If not a designer Jillian B. Davis would have been?

Jillian: A writer.

Form follows function, what's your opinion?

Jillian: I think this is good advice.

Your dream of felicity would be?

Jillian: To become such a good designer I get my own line of products at Target like........Michael Graves.

Describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.

Jillian: I actually asked a friend, and he thinks my designs are 'playful, but not childish'. I am inspired by a lot of different artists and designers, such as classics like Corbusier and the Eames collection. However, I'm also a fan of newer designers like Paul Sandip and George Watson, who make a lot of useful gizmos for your everyday life.

If given a chance, you'd like to re-incarnate as?

Jillian: A sea lion. I recently took a trip to San Francisco and saw sea lions on the piers in the Bay area. They spend all day fighting for piers and pushing the other sea lions into the water. It looked fun.

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Wow! that was indeed a wonderful interview, thank you Jillian for sparing out time in doing an interview with us, it is greatly appreciated; also I'd like to wish you success for all your future endeavors.