The Environmental + Interior Design (E+ID) program held its Fall 2016 E+ID Senior Portfolio Exhibit on December 9, at Aloha Tower Marketplace. The exhibit was an opportunity for the E+ID seniors to shine, to show their appreciation to their spouses, families, and friends, and to connect with colleagues. Attended by about 120 people of which nearly two-thirds were design professionals and allied industry professionals, the event showcased the quality of graduates produced by the E+ID program.
Graduating E+ID seniors, Rosalina Ashe, Kelsey Jones, Derek Tamashiro and Kelsey Williamson, had on display a variety of their physical artifacts, representing the accumulation of their work over the course of four years. The displays demonstrated their work in studio classes and with design projects and included presentation boards, material boards, models, sculptures, 3D renderings and construction documentation. Many of the projects were from service-learning projects dealing with actual clients and providing solutions to real design problems and challenges. In many cases, the work provided design concepts that clients could use to raise awareness and financing, as well as garner community recognition of the E+ID program.
In addition, each student prepared for viewing a senior portfolio book. The student’s individual portfolio book represented the student’s design thinking and application, his or her best work and evidence of what the student could offer potential employers. The book would make an excellent tool in interviews for graduates seeking professional positions.
“The portfolio exhibit is a recognition and celebration of students achieving their BFA in Environmental + Interior Design. It is a milestone event in our curriculum, ” wrote Joan Riggs, E+ID program director. “It is a thank you to the design community for their support and collaboration, and it is a networking social event for the Chaminade ohana, friends, and family, the design community and the general public.”
Chaminade University’s senior portfolio exhibit has been a tradition with the E+ID program for more than 15 years and is held in the semesters when there are students graduating from the program with their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees.
Chaminade University offers the only accredited, degree-granting Environmental + Interior Design program in Hawaii. Since its accreditation in 2013, the employment rate for graduates seeking a full-time, entry-level position in an interior design or architectural firm is more than 80 percent and has been increasing every year. Students in the program can be assured that they are getting a high-quality education that prepares them for a successful professional career. Chaminade’s E+ID program is unique from other academic programs, in that it extends beyond the traditional scope of interior design to encompass the broader aspects of the environment into the design process. This broader environmental perspective helps us to understand our connection not just to the building itself, but also to the land, to the community, and to the planet.
