Have you ever heard the phrase “Good design is invisible”? While this quote may sound puzzling at first, think about all those badly designed websites or apps you have ever encountered. Now think of the great ones. In which was the design more apparent? In the world of user experience design, good design is a lot harder to notice because it fits our needs so well that it barely draws attention to itself.

If creating good design sounds like the sort of challenge you are up for, your ambition and
aspirations as a female innovator are in line with our vision.

At SUTD, our vision – A Better World by Design – is born out of a passion for improving everyday lives through the power of technology and design. Together, technology and design has the potential to elevate the way people experience the world around them. Design Thinking is a foundation of SUTD’s education to make sure that the solutions we create add value to the world around us.

 

Can tech be made accessible to all?
For alumna Alethea Ho, one thing that drives her is the idea of making something that helps people in any small way. So when she chanced upon Dyson during her hunt for an internship, she jumped at it.

Alethea Ho (right) with another SUTD alumnus Dexter Chew from Class of 2018

Alethea Ho
Engineering Product Development (EPD) Class of 2017, (formerly from Temasek Junior College) Current Master of Engineering Postgraduate Student and Senior Mobile Developer (Android) at Dyson

“The work we do greatly impacts the way that users can interact with their devices – that’s why I am here,” says Alethea. Now a Senior Mobile Developer at Dyson, her role involves developing customer User Interface (UI).

As an android developer, Alethea innovates new features for the DysonLink App, making smart products even smarter. For example, the app enables users not just to control devices like lights, robo-vacuums or fans via a remote control, but also lets users turn on the devices on the go, and even set schedules to ease their daily routines.

More importantly, she is focusing on making the app accessible to all. By tapping on the power of machine learning and AI for speech recognition, apps can now be voice-activated, allowing for the visually impaired to use the app. Using their in-depth knowledge and technical expertise, Alethea and her team are able to leverage AI-driven solutions to improve the lives of others.

Changing the Face of Design
Before entering SUTD, Alethea had always imagined that improving everyday lives would involve the creation of something groundbreaking. But after her time experiencing SUTD’s curriculum, she quickly realised that the smallest change could lead to the biggest impact.

“SUTD’s design training allows me to see things from many different aspects and thus, find issues that may not be so apparent,” says Alethea. The robust curriculum taught her to work with different kinds of people from various fields and equipped her with design thinking and technical skills, which aids in her everyday life.

As app development increases in complexity, good design becomes more vital than ever. At the end of the day, the design needs to speak to its users’ needs and put its user first.

The Android version of the Dyson mobile app

Harnessing our unique multi-disciplinary capabilities, SUTD has launched a new world-first
Design and Artificial Intelligence (DAI) degree programme aimed at producing a new
generation of designers and innovators for a digital world. From using big data to elevate user experience design to leveraging AI to innovate automated systems for better human and machine interactions, productivity and commercial benefits, the DAI programme focuses on human-first design with the help of technology. It dives into the design thinking aspect of applications across products, systems, services and built environments. What lays in store is exciting thanks to visionaries constantly pushing the envelope, just like Alethea, and potentially, just like you.

If a future as an innovator in this field who helps build a better world excites you, find out more about DAI here.

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