Profiles

Alumni Interview with Kiel Mead

What did you study at Pratt?
Industrial Design.

What was your favorite class or educational experience?
I took a lot of great classes and had a lot of great professors. I feel like every class made an impact on me. The one thing that I recall as my best educational experience was when I entered into my sophomore year and I realized what design was and how much I wanted to do it. I felt like design had endless possibilities. My sophomore year was sort of a right of passage to what I wanted to do with my life professionally.

Do you now collaborate with anyone you met while a student at Pratt?
Yes. I started a club called The American Design Club. Together with some of my classmates from Pratt, (Annie Lenon, Simon Arizpe) and other designers who graduated around the same time as myself from Rhode Island School of Design and Carnegie Melon, we are trying establishing a design community. The AmDC is an opportunity for emerging designers to show their work and connect to the community that exists but is consistently dormant. We are trying to give these designers a platform to stand on. Our mission so far has been to have as many shows as we can.  This allows us to fill a room with a lot of good work and a lot of good people. We are kick starting the design community as fast as we can.  

What are you doing now, and where can we learn more about your work?
Currently I am running my own studio, working as Creative Director at The Future Perfect, managing The American Design Club, and coaching Cross Country and Track at Pratt. 

www.kielmead.com
www.americandesignclub.com
www.thefutureperfect.com

How do you think Pratt has influenced your work, your life?
The Industrial Design program at Pratt laid a solid foundation for me to build off of. I learned a lot from my time at Pratt. I also think that it was my ability to leave Pratt behind and explore what I really wanted to do on my own. I think of Pratt like I think of parents. They teach you a bunch, point you in the right direction and then it is up to you.

What advice could you share with others starting out in your field?
Go off on you own as much as you can. Make friends with as many people as you can in the field but don't use them. Work hard but don't force yourself on others. Put yourself out there in a tasteful way so that people will be able to discover you. Read the Newspaper everyday.