Tam is a student on MA Communicating Complexity at Central Saint Martins, and is currently working as Design Director.
Why did you choose to study your course and why Central Saint Martins (CSM)?
I'm a Design Director for ExTrac, a tech company providing AI-powered intelligence solutions, and a fractional Design Director for TGSN, its sister company, involved in combating disinformation and providing participative programme design in fragile contexts. My work for ExTrac and TGSN involves complexity in numerous ways, and I was excited about the chance to learn more about methods of working with and communicating complexity. I felt like the course had a lot of relevance to what I was doing and would be a way to learn new skills and continue to develop as a designer.
What’s the most interesting part of the curriculum so far?
The mapping techniques in Unit 1 were very interesting – not only for myself but to share with my colleagues too, who come from other disciplines such as engineering and data science. One of the best parts of the course is seeing how design methods can be used by anyone, not just designers, to better articulate, understand, and communicate complex issues, whether they are global or very much internal to our work.
How has the low-residency delivery mode supported your studies and career goals?I work full-time, so it would not have been possible to do this any other way. The low-residency delivery mode has enabled me to fit studying around my career and looking after my kids.
What important piece of advice would you give to students thinking of studying this course?Get comfortable with doing a lot of reading, digesting, and reflecting, and get very organised with documenting your thoughts and workings if you aren't already. It will save a lot of time when you need to submit work later.
What has been the highlight of your CSM experience so far?
The intensive but extremely rewarding mapping weeks and the in-person days where we came together as a group for a short time.
What are your career aspirations? Where would you like to be in five years' time?
In five years' time, I would like to have successfully changed my work culture so that all teams fully embrace and understand design tools and methods, improving our collective ability to work with and communicate complexity.
What is the most important thing you've learnt on the course so far?
To question all the assumed 'truths' about data design! That emotion, subjectivity, and multiple perspectives could and should be much more present in the way we typically communicate data and that complexities should be fully embraced and leaned into as opportunities.
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