Graduate Profile: Jo Szczepanska

Graduate Showcase is a regular feature on Design Droplets that aims to help recent graduates get their name out into the wider design community. Graduate Showcase is a series of questions that seek to showcase who they are as a designer and where they are be headed. If you would like to be featured in Graduate Showcase then let us know via the contact page. Alternatively if you are a prospective employer and would like to get in touch with one of our Graduate Showcasees then let us know via the contact page.

Highlights

• “Using recycled materials, irrigation technology and Permaculture principles VeggiePatch allows climate concerned city dwellers to experience the pleasure of cultivating food in space restricted, urban areas.”
  

• “The business plan I had prepared was part of my design degree at Monash. At its point of inception it provided me a chance to clarify for myself, lecturers and potential investors what its potential market its, and how profitable it may be.”

• “Give it a shot and enjoy being a student. I know it’s hard to do after you have slept 4 hours in a week and are searching the couch for stray coins for a 2 minute noodle hit but seriously, enjoy the freedom a design course provides.”

1. Hi Jo, welcome to design droplets. Can you please give us a quick run down/introduction on yourself.

Ok. Well, in a nutshell I’m a stereotypical 24 y.o Australian-Polish political refugee, an unashamed feminist driven pole dance enthusiast, a bleeding heart greenie, a Monash Industrial Design graduate, a full-time crime scene reconstructer (Graphics Operative) for the Victorian Police. In terms of what I’ve done in the past year or so:

• I’ve graduated from Industrial Design with honours, receiving the Monash Product Design Award
• Landed a full time job as a Graphics Operative
• Won the Best of the Best Design Award in Industrial Design, given to the top tertiary student in Victoria
• Exhibited at InTouch Exhibition in Melbourne
• Succeeded in winning the prestigious Premiers Design Award for self initiated design (open to all designers in Victoria)
• Worked as a Creative Intern in the thought provoking Refugee Realities simulation run by Oxfam Australia, building a whole refugee experience at Gasworks Arts Park
• Volunteered as a designer for the Australian Conservation foundation, o2 Australia, Greens and Futurecanvas
• Been recognised as one of the top 100 influential people in Melbourne for 2008
• Become one of the 7 finalists globally for the Aspen Design Challenge
• Learnt a lot, and laughed a lot

2. You are a finalist in the Aspen design Challenge, can you tell us a bit about your project – VeggiePatch and its development process?

VeggiePatch is a product that provides its users to create edible landscapes in urban spaces. It basically grew out of my final year project at Monash, Industrial Design. I chose the topic of food and sustainability, and VeggiePatch was one of the concepts that came out of that.

Using recycled materials, irrigation technology and Permaculture principles VeggiePatch allows climate concerned city dwellers to experience the pleasure of cultivating food in space restricted, urban areas. Eliminating food miles, packaging, processing, and waste water used in flood irrigation at the beginning of the food production cycle. And greenhouse gas emissions, need for landfill and food waste transportation at the end, VeggiePatch allows for a plug and play approach to food cultivation and composting. Being adaptable to its surroundings, capable of watering itself, VeggiePatch gives urban residents a hands way to reduce their eco-footprints.

3. You originally conceived VeggiePatch as part of your studies, entered in Aspen Design Challenge as a product that would be turned into a business and have now created VeggiePatch2 – DYI Edition. Can you tell us a about its evolution through these stages and where it is headed now?

VeggiePatch was one of the initial concepts I came up with for my final year project at uni. It was one of four main directions I had which were all aiming to make food more sustainable. The other ideas included solar barbeques with gardens and composting, food storage devices, and smart shopping bags that measured your eco footprint. Originally VeggiePatch the concept was fabric based but after further research I chose to make the product out of Recycled tyre crumb and natural rubber and some other recycled materials. You can have a read of my thesis if you need some light reading…

The VeggiePatch for the Aspen competition was basically just  the original project but in a business format. I had made a business plan for it during my studies at Monash, this included research on the market segment it would cater to, what materials it utilised and how it worked. Most importantly as part of my business plan I relied on statistics to underline trends in the DIY and sustainable product market, and, in that showing that urban agriculture was in fact a viable alternative for city dwellers in the future as a source of food.

Alternatively DIY VeggiePatch is a bit of a pet project of mine. It’s a basically started where the original finished off, I created my first one as a method of testing the product in a real life situation. As of yet, not many studies have been conducted into the spacing and development of vegetables when growing in containers, primarily because we have always grown vegetables in the ground. So DIY VeggiePatch provided me a cheap means of running spacing experiments. As a result I found the spacing sweet spots for many varieties of plants, and I felt that this DIY version allowed not only me, but, potentially other user’s a cheap version, adaptable to their needs.

This VeggiePatch also made urban gardening cheap, adjustable and accessible to everyone. The plans for a basic DIY VeggiePatch are on the website and can be downloaded for free to make for yourself or your friends. All you need is some fabric, wood, time and a bit of sewing/woodworking know how. By taking the manufacturing out of the picture, it makes it a lot cheaper to get going and allows users to adapt and evolve the plans to their needs. The mechanisms behind the DIY version are the same as the original they are simply a more hands on.

4. Can you talk about your experience in preparing a design concept for entry into a Design Competition?

I think each competition you enter has to be approached differently. And reading the submission requirements generally is the best starting point.

The Aspen Design Challenge was a slightly different approach to a design competition, and in hindsight I can see clearly that it was looking for research skill and more of a focus on a worded entry. I initially made an entry with lots of graphics, animations and multimedia but quite luckily really the upload size just wouldn’t accept my files, as a result I entered my business plan at the eleventh hour. The criteria for the Aspen Design Challenge competitions were quite open but at the same time quite probing, which to a certain degree made answering them a bit difficult.

At first all I knew was that the Aspen Design Challenge was focussing on water, so I wasn’t too sure if my product would even be considered. I had done a lot of research into water use for my VeggiePatch quite simply because Australia is in such a critical point with our fresh water storages. As the primary part of my entry I compared conventional agriculture in Australia to growing food in a VeggiePatch product. Additionally I met the criteria ( like describing my audience, research I completed, my intended outcome and how I would get to that outcome) by attaching my Business Plan, outlining some of the products other features(other than water saving), and a very short and sweet, hopefully easy to follow outline of how the product might get into market.

5. For entry into the Aspen Design Challenge you created a business plan around your concept. Can you discuss your business planning process in relation to the design?

The business plan I had prepared was part of my design degree at Monash. At its point of inception it provided me a chance to clarify for myself, lecturers and potential investors what its potential market its, and how profitable it may be. It also nutted out my main competitors and potential threats when bringing it to market. The business plan really helped to summarise my product in a matter fact way from the ideas behind the product and its functionality.

6. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I draw my inspiration most of the time from chaos, and critical mass. I’m sure its not the most efficient way of functioning as a designer but I for some reason it works for me. I’m a bit of a hoarder, so when Im in need of a bit of inspiration, I do tend to spend my time in a library, a strange community forum, a gallery or park. I might be looking up an article database site or a random trail on a search engine or wondering around in  an op shop. I save everything that catches my eye. It could be notes I’ve taken during a meeting, articles I’ve  found, pictures and photos, random novelties… the theory is that  eventually an idea comes out. Of course its not always viable but more often than not they give me a good blue sky, what if type of approach. That and it makes getting an idea a whole lot more fun that staring at a blank piece of paper.

7. What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your design career?

I think the biggest challenge I have faced in my design career along with many others is trying to figure out where I fit into the whole scheme of things. As a young designer finding a job is has been pretty hard, and selling myself and my ideas at times have been a bit difficult.  I think I’m still figuring out how I get to my dream job, any suggestions would be appreciated.

8. What do you think are the most important issues/trends in design today and in the future?

Well I am hoping social design and environmental design will become the next big design trends to influence the design industry. I think as conscious consumerism becomes more prevalent, and as people become more frugal due to the current economic climate, the design industry will need to be smarter in terms of creating versatile products for the middle and lower classes. They will have to begin considering not only the environmental impact their product make, from the materials, but whether they are making a positive impact socially. I hope that social design will become better supported in the future, and can become an element of many large design practices; I hope designer can look beyond consumerism to tackle so many issues facing people in developing countries.

9. You recently graduated from Monash University in Melbourne, What advice would you give to someone who is just beginning their Industrial/Product Design degree or thinking about undertaking one?

Give it a shot and enjoy being a student. I know it’s hard to do after you have slept 4 hours in a week and are searching the couch for stray coins for a 2 minute noodle hit but seriously, enjoy the freedom a design course provides. People in other courses sit around doing Excel spreadsheets! Be thankful. Briefs at Uni are great, because as long as you can justify them, you can redirect a project almost anywhere. I’ve designed a sports bra for a sports goods project, a political youth vehicle out or papier-mâché, and an anti childhood obesity toy. Have a bit of fun, and push the envelope, take some risks and see if you can sell the impossible idea. You can always tone it down.

10. Jo, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us here at design droplets. In closing, do you have any last thoughts or words of advice you would like to share?

Participate. Its all well and good that you have a design degree or that you love design. But how much are you using what you really know? I hope as designers we can all become a bit more active in terms of design for the community designing for good as opposed to evil. If you don’t really like your job, or your bored, or you just have a little time on your hands why not volunteer for an organisation or a cause you are interested in or passionate about. Be creative.