Q&A with Nate Nelson

How is college different than you expected?
College is different than I expected in the sense that it really is what you make of it. You don’t HAVE to sign up for clubs, you don’t HAVE to do your homework before the last minute, you don’t HAVE to do anything. Something that really helped with my personal motivation for school was the freedom to choose what I studied and when. Taking classes that I was interested in and still being able to fulfill degree requirements was a much-welcomed change of pace from the traditional STEM-filled high school curriculum I was used to.

How has your creative work changed from four years ago?
Throughout the past four years my work has changed drastically, in part due to my lack of creative exploration prior to WashU. Essentially, I just tried anything and everything that interested me and dove deeper into the ideas that confused me. The longer I spent on those ideas, the more likely the work would culminate into some of my favorite projects. Overall, my creative work has changed in its complexity from indiscriminate scribbles to logic-based scribbles, largely due to the change in how I think about creative work and my design process.

What are some of the biggest life lessons you learned in your time here?
A few come to mind: give yourself at least 15 minutes per page to print/plot in the Whittaker Lab, timelapse videos of the CNC holds great potential to slingshot one’s social media to stardom, and to take chances both in work and life.

What is a small thing you learned in class that’s had a big impact on your work?
The power of Pinterest and similar websites when searching for inspiration.

How are your plans different than what you thought four years ago?
Coming into college, I wanted to pursue a career in architecture. Today, while I’m not super far away from that initial idea, I’ve transitioned more into the graphic/fashion design industries when thinking about what comes after graduation in May.