Introducing Huy Nguyen, 2021 Big Design Scholar

For 2021, Big Design has awarded two design scholarships at UNT to based upon a pemanent endowment set up in the College of Visual Arts and Design and the College of Technical Conmmuniction. The winner of the College of Visual Arts and Design scholarship is Huy Nguyen. We asked Mr. Nyugyen a few questions about the scholarship, his goals, and plans for the future.

What interests you in research and design?

Personally, I have strong interest in automobile industry as the world is considering the huge breakthrough into self-driving cars.. The question about how to make the car’s cabin comfortable and efficient for drivers and passengers always attracted me. I hope to use my experiences and knowledge to evaluate the overall cabin experience for all kinds of users, especially disable users who struggling with everyday tasks.

What are your passions?

Experiencing the variety of everyday things, i often see the possibilities for new improvements. I like to travel to experience how different systems in different cultures work. As I have traveled to new places, I found enjoyment in the way things are built and run, especially things which involve the visual and logical parts of my mind.

Tell us about your scholarship project.

Home Instruction of Parents of Preschool Youngsters Texas (HIPPY Texas) exists to help facilitate in-home instruction in areas of early reading and writing for children pre-primary school in Texas. However, their website is currently outdated in term of its design and functionalities. Using my knowledge and experience, I conducted users research and identified the current problems with the website. After the problem defined, the new design was produced to meet all the requirements needed and ran test with users. Since I was a software developer before becoming a UX designer, I am working on the development’s phase of the final website. It’s nearly finished, too.

What excites you about the conference?

I m excited about the Big Design Conference because it is a chance for thinking, not just purely a normal event anymore. Listening to leaders of UX field will potential help me to gain more knowledge and grow in my research and design career. I will spend full free time of those days to listening and noting all useful information, ideas and advices. Especially, the topics about researching for business, empathy, decision making, design critiques and dignity are very useful and attractive. I also hope to communicate more with other and gain more connections

What does the scholarship mean to you?

The scholarship was a very valuable asset to boost and motivate my determination to start change a design for a very helpful NGO like HIPPY. As the day i got the information about my scholarship, i knew that my work is now supported. I knew that i can make the chance and that chance can help people in need accessing their information easily. The motivation from the scholarship really make the change in my mind.