Irtiza is a current student on BA (Hons) Information and Interface Design (now BA (Hons) User Experience Design) at London College of Communication.
I'm a multidisciplinary designer with a background in physics.
I'm an international student from Karachi, Pakistan
During the early years of my life, I was really interested in programming. When I was 9 years old I had already programmed my own web browser and when I was in grade 4 I hacked my school's network, exposed a security flaw and was featured in my country’s local newspaper for it.
As I progressed further I also developed an interest in filmmaking, photography, fashion design and graphic design so I started practising all of this and soon realised I don't just want to be a programmer. I want a field I can express my interest in design in, and express my creativity.
For me, BA (Hons) Information and Interface Design is a mixture of design and development so I get the best of both worlds. I chose LCC because it's the only college in the UK that offers this program, and University of the Arts London is featured in the top 5 design schools in the world.
My favourite thing about LCC is that it gives you the opportunity to interact with people from a diverse range of backgrounds and principles.
The most interesting project I've worked on was designing an interactive timeline. I chose to make a timeline about typography, 50 fonts that changed the world of design.
I ended up creating a minimal interface that gave an amazing experience to the user. The design features the name of the font, the country it was invented in and the year it was invented. The centre of the page just has the word typography with information about the typeface. As the user scrolls the page, each letter of the word typography changes.
This system allows the user to experience the revolution of design in terms of typography at their own pace. It is a simple design that conveys a lot of information.
I'd say if you want to express your creativity, learn design, while also having the chance to gain technical knowledge then look no further. This course is for you if you have the passion for design and to try out new ideas and think out of the box.
I'm currently working on redesigning Wikipedia. I'm creating a credibility meter for the website that, when activated, tells you how credible the information on the page is and why is it credible.
The interesting projects I've recently worked on include designing an interactive timeline and projection mapping onto the facade of the Typo Café at LCC.
All my works take a very minimal design approach. I want my work to say a lot about itself, yet avoid too many elements that create clutter and obscure the design.
A Moleskin Notebook, Macbook and Matcha Green Tea.
That would be Apple. I’ve had an obsession with them ever since childhood. The way they design their products tends to reduce complexity.
I still remember there was a point in my life I was so obsessed by Apple that when I was around 8 years old my mom used to own this MAC Cosmetics Face Compact and I used to think it was also designed by Apple since the brand name MAC and I used to hug it! Which when I now think about is quite embarrassing, yet true.
My goal at that point in life was to get a job so that I could buy myself a MAC. When my dad got me one soon after I no longer wanted a job or had any life goals left, it was as if I had the world. There is no specific product I would love to work on. I am quite inspired by Jonathan Ive at Apple, by the designs he comes up with, and how passionately he talks about his work.
I found London to be a very happening and exciting place to live. It has a huge variety of people from diverse background, there's so much to learn from everyone you meet. My favourite place to explore would be Oxford Street.
The plan, for now, is to get a job at a good company like Google or Apple and also carry on with my masters and after that think about starting my own Design Firm either based in London or New York.
View the BA (Hons) User Experience Design course page.