About My Research

This site serves as a reflection of my graduate thesis work in automotive textile design at North Carolina State University.  I began this site in January 2009 and plan to maintain it until my graduation in December 2009.  I have been in the graduate program at the College of Textiles for 1 year of a 2 year program.  During this first year, I have focused on the automotive industry, design, and sustainability.  Now at the half-way point, I have selected my thesis topic and made plans as to how to approach my research so that my work is complete by October 2009.  In the right column of this blog, I have posted my personal timeline to ensure that I am meeting my deadlines.  Please take time to look through all the information included in the right hand column, especially if this is your first time visiting this site.

The purpose of this site is 3-fold.
1) Most scholars are only given 1 chance to write a thesis, and 2 years to learn how to do so.  Sure there are books on research methods and databases of theses to form a background or starting place for your work, but no one really explains to us exactly what this process is like from start to finish.
2) Over the past year, I have learned beyond my expectations about the automotive industry, past, current, and future.  Throughout my next year of study, I have access to resources that would be coveted by any designer in this industry and plan to uncover valuable correlations between design and success.  I will post many images and articles which I find the most enriching.
and 3) Writing my thoughts and progress where it is publicly available will encourage me to meet deadlines and provide a clear platform to keep my committee informed.

My Topic
I will be examining the history of automotive bodycloth development and aligning this with outside factors such as the economy, increase in mass production, increase in technical standards and regulations, the importance of fashion and color, along with what at this time is an unpredictable number of additional variables.  The ultimate question I aim to answer is if there is a concrete way to measure and predict success in order to save time, money, and resources.

1.15.2009

Automotive Textile Design Competition Results!

As part of my graduate research last semester I entered the Kolon Glotech and Automotive Textiles Solutions student design competition.  This competition was announced early in the Fall 2008 semester with the title "Don't Cramp My Style".  The goal was to design interior fabrics for consumers in the year 2012 and beyond under 2 categories: Small Car, and Small SUV.  The competition was open to 5 top transportation and textile design programs in the US: Art Center College of Design at Pasadena, College for Creative Studies, Philadelphia University, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and my university- NCSU.   The entries were judged by designers at Hyundai, Mazda, General Motors, and Shawmutt Mills.

Mid-December Stephanie Rodgers, who organized the competition, contacted me to let me know that I had received 1st place for my designs in the Small SUV category!  I also found out that Crystal Avalos, a dear friend and all around sweetheart, placed 1st in the Small Car category!  Way to go NC State!    Second place for small car was taken by RISD, and honorable mentions were awarded to Philadelphia University and RISD.  For Small SUV,  RISD swept second place and both honorable mentions.  You can link to this site to learn more:www.autotexcompetition.com

To be perfectly honest...I wanted this...badly!  Throughout the years I have entered countless design competitions.  Some have been required for classes, some are opportunities for a little extra cash, and some have involved public recognition or display of an art piece.  To me, this competition, however, was far more important.  There are very few opportunities for students representing the automotive textile design world.  We are a small crowd- but have finally learned exactly what we want to do with our lives.  I felt as though this competition had been created just for me and was an opportunity to prove to myself that I am on the right path.
Posted by at
Labels:

1 comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)