Donovan Preddy

MiD 2011

B.F.A - Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM

Biography

Growing up I spent much of my spare time working in my fathers wood shop tinkering with my own little projects as well as assisting Dad on his. This urge for creativity brought me to a sophomore art class in high school where my academic pursuit in this realm would begin. From there I went on to Tyler School of Art where I got a bachelor’s degree in CAD/CAM Jewelry. I was more attracted to the variety of tools and processes that this department offered than jewelry-making.

After leaving Tyler, I moved to NYC for two years where I worked as the model maker for a jewelry manufacturer and independently for several designers. By late 2002, I moved back to Philadelphia where my business continued to grow at a steady rate for several years.

In 2009, I became frustrated with the lavish excess this field seemed to relish and once again decided to reinvent myself by leaving my ornamentally based past for a more functionally-based future in Industrial Design.

Projects

Balance Bench

How balanced are you? This bench is designed with a center of gravity that is off-center, encouraging people to interact with the each other to keep things balanced.

Administrative Task Force Project

A team of students was asked to help a University strategic planning group work more effectively to imagine the future of the University of the Arts.

Remás

Remittances are big business. We worked with a non-profit to simplify what has traditionally been a complex system.

M.I.T.S. Music Interface for Touch Screen

Digital music sequencers traditionally loop in a linear pattern. Why canʼt the loop follow a more natural circular orbit and resemble its function more closely?

Studio Next: Finance

A video recap of a cross-department collaborative effort to address issues within the Finance Office at University of the Arts.

Articles