Letter of Introduction

I would like to introduce my INDS degree in Digital Product Development and Design. In high school, I received my first smartphone: a bright yellow Nokia Lumia 920. Powered by the now defunct Microsoft Windows Phone OS and equipped with exclusive Windows-only apps, this phone was unique in design. It was great to hold, look at and feel; its user-experience was amazing. I loved using this phone everyday. It was this phone that peaked my passion for digital products. Coming into UMBC, I was unsure of what I wanted to study. It wasn’t until I shared my passions with a close friend, who was working as a software developer, that he suggested a field called Product Design. After doing more of my own research, I learned that designing a complex product like a smartphone wasn’t done by a single department or team; there had to be interdisciplinary effort that made the product successful. Inspired by my findings, I decided to pursue Individualized Study where I am now pursuing this INDS degree.

The growth of digital products has exploded within the past decade worldwide. With increasing access to broadband Internet, more users are using online web and software services in daily life. In the US alone, use of smartphones exponentially shot from 35% in 2011 to 85% in 2019.¹ Use of social media apps like Facebook and Instagram grew from 5% in 2005 to 79% in 2019. ¹ Even specific services like Amazon Prime have grown their customer base three-fold in the past 5 years.¹ Additionally, the prevalence of digital products in businesses is inevitable in the future as more corporations are digitizing their services like health insurance.² Product designers are needed to help businesses understand their customer needs so users can have the best experience possible. Thus, not only will digital product designers need a strong background in technology and design, they must also be able to understand management of a digital product and its users.

My degree plans to have an interdisciplinary understanding for digital products in three ways: management strategies, technology and design, and users and their behavior. I seek to integrate coursework from the disciplines of management, information systems, human-centered computing (HCC), and psychology. To further my understanding of holistic integration, I will also be taking major requirements from INDS.

Upon graduation, I intend to work in the digital product design industry at a firm such as BlenderBox or IDEO and gain experience before applying for graduate programs in Human-Computer Interaction and potentially Information Systems or Computer Science. This INDS degree will set a firm foundation of product design principles that prepares me for employment or further graduate studies.

Finally, I would like to thank the faculty and staff of the INDS program for their invaluable support in developing my degree. I am grateful for my advisor Eric Brown who not only gave insightful feedback, but also made this process enjoyable. I would like to thank my faculty mentor, Dr. Andrea Kleinsmith, and INDS alumni Luis Queral for their knowledgeable guidance. I would also like to thank my informal mentor and dear friend, Yangha Kim. Without their knowledge and support, this degree plan would not have been possible.

Sincerely,

Andrew