Design Student of the Month – Sara Salevati

There are a lot of creative students in Canada who are doing innovative work to improve people's life through interactive, visual, informational, and other aspects of User Experience Design. I invited them to introduce who they are and share their work with you. To nominate a Design Student of the Month, email us. The Design Student of the Month for April 2009 is Sara Salevati! Congratulations!! Let's hear from Sara.

Who’s Sara?

My name is Sara Salevati and I am a designer in my first year Masters of Applied Arts program at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. Prior to enrolling at Emily Carr, I have completed my Bachelors degree in Interaction Design at Simon Fraser University.

My interest is interaction and user experience design. My design projects evolve through a process of discovery grounded in research, beginning in qualitative observations and look beyond the surface of human behavior to find deeper clues to help foster the creation of more meaningful experiences. My design practices cover a variety of disciplines such as designing for children, real estate, home, communications and environments.

What cool stuff is Sara doing?

One of my research initiatives focuses on design for health and wellness involving the BC Children’s Hospital. I am pursuing research and new ideas for enhancing the healthcare experience for children. The project focuses on the strengthening of the perception of the hospital environment as a more comfortable, safe and fun place for children. Throughout this research project I will investigate and develop strategies to transform a typically unsettling and worrisome hospital experience to one that is more humane and friendly by creating surroundings that calm patients, strengthen their coping resources, and make their entire experience within the hospital more comfortable. I am particularly interested in exploring design interventions that have the potential to trigger an emotional response through sights, sounds, textures and movement.

I am also researching the integration of space and experience design; using Interaction Design as a tool for understanding and transforming a public place. I am investigating environments that enhance and encourage responsive behavior from their inhabitants. Through the project “enticity” I focus on the idea of introducing a design scheme within a public square that will pioneer an interaction between the passers-by and the occupants of this environment. The challenge is to develop the design in a way that will be valuable to the diverse ethnicity and age groups of the population that inhabit this space. The goal is making this space inviting for people to use in ways other than just a passageway; thus to improve and enhance their experience in the square, having people use this space to stop and relax, share stories, educate, celebrate diversity and strengthen their sense of community.

What are Sara’s plans after graduation?

In the future I would like to work in an interdisciplinary design consultancy or a company with a strong focus in user experience design.

Want to learn more about Sara?

If you would like to learn more about me or my work please email me at ssalevati@ecuad.ca.

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