Seunghark Cho

Raised in South Korea and currently based in Los Angeles, CA, Seunghark (Andy) Cho, IDSA, believes having a diverse background as a designer has been critical to helping him understand many different points of view. “If you do not understand the user, you can never be a successful designer,” he says. “Hence, I am looking forward to contributing greatly to society with the full respect and environment that sustains us.”

Now in his final year at ArtCenter College of Design, set to graduate in April 2022, Cho is preparing his graduation portfolio and planning to apply for a full-time position in January. Winning the 2021 Design Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship “really helped me reduce the burden of high tuition,” Cho says. “Luckily, I've had the honor of receiving additional scholarships from school, so my remaining terms are looking very affordable, thanks to IDSA and ArtCenter.” This scholarship and attendant promotion by IDSA “also made me recognized by various design studios,” he continues. “In fact, I am currently talking to a few companies for potential internships and even full-time positions.”

Cho’s winning design projects include Wella, a sustainable packaging solution for the competitive hair product market; Span, a camera that consistently records beloved memories and events in one’s home; and SMD Oral Irrigator, a domestic oral care unit that broadens the user spectrum with a unique mouthpiece.

In summer 2021, Cho worked as a medical devices industrial design intern at Johnson & Johnson, and in the fall, he participated in a studio sponsored by Asus Republic of Gamers geared to creating the future of gaming solutions.

Cho’s favorite part of the design process “is the transition from an idea to 3D tangible form,” he says. “This includes translating sketches to 3D models in CAD and then making iterative prototypes to conduct proof of concept.” He values this process as an emerging designer because, as he has learned, “one of our core goals is to create something that people can use and benefit from,” and one fancy rendering does not show whether the design will be successful or not.

Cho’s immediate plan after graduation is to land a full-time job as an industrial designer. “I am enthusiastic about consumer electronics,” he says, and hopes to work for “one of the tech giants on the West Coast.”