Meet the 18 students who will make up the Class of 2017. Over the next few weeks, we’ll highlight three incoming students. Today: Junyue, Keith, and Melissa.
Junyue is an interaction designer with experience in UX design, UI design, and animation design. He was intrigued with design and technology, which led him to obtain a degree in Multimedia & Entertainment technology from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Upon graduation, he joined the leading tech company in China, Tencent, as a game designer. After successfully designing three popular mobile games, he began to focus on the relationship between people and screens. Then Junyue changed his position as an interaction designer and designed ShutApp, an elegant battery saver App for Android phones, which has over 50,000 fans around the world. Moreover, he designed a Hospital Information System for local hospitals.
Apart from work, Junyue is very keen on traveling. He enjoys living and exploring different places.
Keith was born in Taiwan, educated in Singapore, and came to New York at 15 years old to pursue an undergraduate degree in computer science. Currently working as a developer and UX designer, he has previously worked at various publishing companies and on digital projects for brands such as Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure.
Keith intends to focus on the fundamentals of human interaction with objects and the environment. He is very excited to explore his passions for minimal design, sketching, prototyping, and observation to contribute to the future of technology.
Originally from Los Angeles, Melissa Newball started creating websites to publish her short stories when she was in middle school. Gradually her interests shifted from the stories to web design and Melissa decided to officially pursue design. She received her BFA in Graphic Design from Florida Atlantic University in 2011. Upon graduating she knew that, while she loved visual design, she wanted to get better at building the functionality of the web, not just the aesthetics. That is when she discovered the interaction design field and SVA.
In addition to design, Melissa is an avid drawer and has had her work exhibited in galleries in South Florida. She also loves photography, film, and is looking for new ways to visually tell stories.
