Learning to design via Lego, Brio, and Rock and Roll

Learning to design via Lego, Brio, and Rock and Roll

When I recently tried to evaluate the path that led me towards project management and user experience design, I noticed a pattern: even as a child I would spend hours executing the ideas of others and managing that process.

Lego, BRIO, and musicianship all challenged me to interpret a set of plans, and make the design a reality.

Lego forced me to read plans that were concise and extremely particular. When building their models there is a notable absence of free-form creativity if I wanted to recreate the precise models on the box. This required patience, focus, and the occasional grandmother-made grilled cheese.

My BRIO train set was less demanding of building a particular final result, but I was confined to using pieces that fit together in very finite ways. My goal was to always end the project with a closed-loop that allowed the trains to return to the beginning, and hopefully having fun along the way.

Being in a band can be just as fun as it looks, yet there exist many complexities behind the scenes. Despite having the (hopefully) same goal of playing music and entertaining others, some of the challenges include the management of various personalities, skill-sets, song selections, and scheduling. We also had to choose a song to play and design an arrangement that pleases both the band members and the audience. I truly enjoy leading a team towards a goal.

Throughout my life and career, I've had to rise to meet the challenges of: realizing presupposed visions, creating and designing within the bounds of defined constraints, and shepherd others through the process towards achieving greatness.

I look forward to meeting my next challenge!