by Natalia Ramirez

Last week the students at MFAD had the pleasure of meeting Serifcan Ozcan, Creative Director at Nike and absolute design experience whiz. Ranging from projects like “The Sprite Corner,” a pop-up bodega meets event space meets content engine, to the “Department of Unimaginable,” a lab- and museum-inspired customer experience at Nike “where the mind can be molded to build,” Serif’s work reminds us that design exists in the multidimensional, and can profoundly touch our experiences of the world.

Throughout his presentation he advocated for the execution of wildly imaginative and challenging ideas, suggesting that visions both have meaning and be rooted in objectives in order to become achievable. “Why?” “For who?” “With what purpose?” — these are questions we should be asking ourselves over and over again in different stages of the design process if we are to go about our projects with intention.

Equally as valuable were his discussions around the concept of parameters, and of being flexible and adaptable enough to navigate the inevitable world of imposed (self- or client-) limitations. It is without a doubt that Serif considers design as problem-solving, and as an avid problem-solver himself, proposes that asking the right questions can help identify the holes needed to generate innovative solutions. “Find something that really bothers you and make it better. Make sure that it really bothers you – you’ll be really motivated to solve it.”

Thank you, Serif, for leaving us with much to admire and to consider at this crucial stage in our design development.