Pengtao Yu

“My interest in industrial design started with my curiosity of how things work and my obsession with beautiful objects. Four year’s of undergraduate training in industrial design and several internship experiences in top design studios have given me strong traditional design skills….I have won two IDEA awards in the student design category.

I love being here at the Graduate Industrial Design program at Art Center, we are not only learning about design, but also the process of how a design will get into the market. By understanding that process, we will create designs that not only benefit the customer but also better benefit businesses.

I have been reading Steve Jobs recently. When reading the chapter about Jobs and Ive, I realized that a dream job for me would be having a company leader who understands and appreciates design, who is also willing to help designers realize their vision. Working for a company like this will be the happiest thing for me.

Last year, I worked with American Red Cross in an Emergency Response Vehicle redesign project. I recently heard from American Red Cross that my design has been made into prototypes and was tested during hurricane season 2011. They believe the design "will enable the American Red Cross to greatly reduce operational costs while simultaneously enabling the disaster relief operation to initiate service delivery to affected clients immediately following the disaster impacts." I am very happy to see a school project has turned into a reality. What's more important is that my design will help a lot of disaster victims get hot food and cold drink much sooner than before. I think this is what made me proud as a designer, making people's life better and putting a smile on everyone's face.

want to thank IDSA for awarding me the IDSA Gianninoto Graduate Scholarship. Being selected by a panel of professional designers makes me feel honored. It also gives me the confidence to pursue my future career success.