Maria Johansson (Sweden)
| Hi! My name is Maria. I'm a PhD student in industrial design at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. |  |
When I was growing up, I always had a need to know how things worked, and my parents claim that the word I used most was WHY. I took alarm clocks apart (strangely there were always parts that did not fit when I tried to put them back together again) and I loved to build things in LEGO. I was really curious about science and about the world, and I also really liked to draw and paint. Even though I never really knew what I would 'do' when I grew up, I always knew that I would carry on studying after school. Although, the road to where I am today was not a straight one.
I went from high school to art school and from there to work in retail shops, finally taking the step to study science. This was because of a new programme at Luleå University of Technology called Industrial Design Engineering. It was the perfect mix of art, creativity and science.
So what is industrial design? Well, I am not designing industries. What an industrial designer does is to design industrially produced products. To be able to design a "good" product you need to use knowledge from many areas, such as knowledge of the environment, of ergonomy and of the human body, of materials, mechanics, and a bit about how humans think and interact with products. This makes it the perfect area for me - I get to apply my interests in art/design and my interests in science.
When I started to study engineering, I realised what fun it was. So I thought, why stop with an engineering diploma? I graduated with a Master's in Industrial Design. And after a few years I thought: Hey, why not keep going? So here I am today - PhD student, studying to become a researcher in industrial design.
At Luleå University of Technology we study many different areas of industrial design. For example, we look at work environments and tools for cleaners and how to improve cars. I am studying why different nationalities see products differently. If, for instance, I would ask a Swedish person in a city and an Indian in the countryside about the pros and cons of five different makes of washing machines, I would probably get quite different opinions about their favourites. Differences in accessibility of water and electricity, family structure, religious beliefs and history are just a few reasons why people use machines differently. To find answers to my questions, I have travelled (for almost four months) from the USA to South Korea, to Germany.
When I was twelve and reading about science and drawing, I had no idea that there was actually a profession that would allow me to combine all the things that interested me. As a PhD student in industrial design, I now get to learn more about science, do sketches for product ideas and travel around the world. You can't get better than that!
School:
Rymdgymnasiet Kiruna, Sweden