I was never so proud to have been nominated last year in 2023 as one of 100 women represented in a book called: Women of the Future (Emerging Technology) 2024. Thank you Amy Peck and Sue Rooney for recognizing the impact and contributions my innovative work has had on the XR landscape.
* I am a creative director, an award-winning VR artist, storyteller and experimenter in the field of XR design and spatial experiences. I have been working as a spatial designer in VR/AR, public art, education and world-building since 2020. I have contributed as a jury member for conferences or funding boards and have taken pride in working as an advisor to experiential properties. What brings me joy is imagining and solving conceptual problems that allow audiences to find meaning through works that illicit awe and wonder. I believe in the value of play and the integration of interactivity in all media.
Once again, huge thank you to the people who have helped me on this journey especially Nicholas Liang, my technologist partner at the time. Together, we achieved more than we ever dreamed of!
Thoughts
Art styles change, technologies continue to update and oftentimes, we can't see the forest for the trees.
Advice for aspiring creatives?
1) Do ART (any creative work) for art's sake. If you were not paid a dime for the honor of doing something creative and fun, would you still do it? Innovation isn't born out of nothing... it all starts with an idea and a metric ton of experimentation. Art/writing/games/theatre etc. allows you to play in the kind of sandbox that makes you into a BETTER person.
Making art encourages you to listen to your own voice in a world of distraction and other competing factors. By listening to your own thoughts, you learn how to link head to heart. Seek your own voice in the privacy of a journal so that you will be ready to offer the world an authentic glimpse of "you" when you are finally asked to speak.
2) Get to know the audience that you are creating for and make friends with AI. Did I say 'make friends'? I meant make "good" friends with AI. Why? If you know the basic principles of design, then AI will be there to serve you... not the other way around.
3) Learn what 'good taste' means. Read as much as you can about design and pattern, critiques and trends. Learn about the classics. Find out where movements began and how/why they evolved. Spend as much time as you can listening & enjoying other people in both social and private spheres. Good taste is about quality, not quantity.
4) Embrace critical thinking. In an age of fake 'everything', it's important to discern and evaluate everything with healthy objectivity. Who are the sources? Is there implicit bias in the facts provided to you? Is what you are observing providing you meaningful information? Are you able to reverse engineer a conclusion to check its validity? Ask questions and then listen. "Facts" in an age of AI may lead you astray.
5) You never know where your passion for things will evolve. Some people will like what you do, others will not, but the one who should be really proud of your work is YOU. So start dreaming up of your plans/stories and ideas now... coz DREAMS DO COME TRUE!
