Hush

Judges Prize

Katrina Marie Balagtas Tech
San Francisco, USA

Design Philosophy:
“When I explore products I am intrigued by the different and innovative ideas and try to come up with my own.  I believe a product should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but it should function correctly as well.  If a product only looks good but cannot function as desired, then it is merely a beautiful piece of art.  When I select a certain issue to design for I dig deeper in research to fully understand the situation.  I also try to place myself in the user’s position to thoroughly analyze the usage process.  If I discover any complications I try to solve them, aiming to make the product as easy to use as possible.  Through this process I make sure that the product can function as desired prior to designing the aesthetics.  I personally like to help people, and I hope to help many by solving problems with my designs.”

Biography:

Katrina Marie Balagtas Tech was born in San Francisco, California, raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Kapolei High School in Hawaii.  After high school Katrina moved back to California to attend San Jose State University for Industrial Design.  She loves the major and will continue on in the program starting her Junior year in the Fall of 2008.  Katrina is also a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) SJSU Student Chapter and currently holds the Treasurer position for the 2008-2009 academic school year.  She wishes to study abroad in Europe prior to graduating and to continue traveling and learning more about design after graduation.  With these travels she hopes to find a destination to settle down in and start her design career.