Five questions with Rachel Poonsiriwong
Get to know CCA alum Rachel Poonsiriwong (BFA Interaction Design with a minor in History of Art and Visual Culture 2021).
Rachel Poonsiriwong. Courtesy of the artist.
Passionate about creating impact with cutting-edge technologies, Rachel Poonsiriwong's work has been recognized as one of TIME's Top 200 Inventions, as well as in CNN and Bloomberg. After graduating, she designed computer vision tools for safer autonomous vehicles and robots at Scale AI, and later served as a product designer and product manager at Terrascope, a Singapore-based climate-tech company focused on decarbonizing the food and agriculture industries. Poonsiriwong is also a new media artist and curator, organizing exhibitions at Root Division in San Francisco, and the Rochester Contemporary Art Center in Rochester.
1. What is your current practice/business?
I am currently pursuing a Master in Design Studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, with a focus on Mediums. In this research-based program, led by Allen Sayegh, I’m exploring how technology shapes human experience and critical design practice. As an interaction designer, I aim to better understand the cultural implications of media in order to create more thoughtful and culturally intelligent AI interfaces.
“CCA was my top choice for its world-class faculty, strategic location in the San Francisco Bay Area, and strong emphasis on community and craft.”
(BFA Interaction Design with a minor in History of Art and Visual Culture 2021)
2. Why did you choose CCA?
CCA was my top choice for its world-class faculty, strategic location in the San Francisco Bay Area, and strong emphasis on community and craft. At CCA, I not only had the opportunity to develop my craft in Interaction Design, but also other art forms like painting, glassblowing, woodworking, and fabrication.
3. If you could share one piece of advice with current or future students, what would it be?
What you put into your college experience is what you get out of it. I'd encourage you to build community, and actively find opportunities to learn from your professors and peers. I'd also recommend tapping into the broader Bay Area community for even more exciting new opportunities.
4. What's your secret to staying inspired and creative?
I enjoy trying many things at once! While some might say I dabble in too many disciplines (art curation, interaction design, and new media art), I think it keeps me feeling energized and excited for new possibilities of expressing myself better.
5. What do you have coming up?
I just had a show in Singapore called Bring Your Own X, part of the REINVENTION program at Singapore Design Week. As the co-curator for this show, I contemplated reassembly and disassembly in the context of Singapore's cultural identity and histories.
I'm currently taking some interesting classes at MIT, including Designing AI for Human Flourishing, taught by Pattie Maes and Pat Pataranutaporn at the MIT Media Lab. It feels like my design practice has come full circle as I reflect on the larger vision of humanity in the things I create. I’m excited to see how these ideas will take shape in future projects. Hopefully I'll have interesting things to show soon!
