Student Spotlight

Alexander Pinks
B.I.D. ’14

Isabella Minkyung Shin
B.I.D. ’14 

At Pratt Institute, every occasion is an opportunity for design.

Case in point: at Legends this year, the honorees received glinting, sculpted-glass awards created by Alexander Pinks (B.I.D., Class of ’14) and Isabella Minkyung Shin (B.I.D., Class of ’14) especially for this year's event.

Karen Stone (M.I.D. ’94), an Industrial Design adjunct associate professor, selected both students based on her experience with them in previous classes. She guided them through the design and production process, which took place at Knoll, Inc., the modern furniture design company where Stone serves as Director of Design.  

Working independently at first, the students each had different visions for the piece. Pinks’ pictured the award as masculine, with iconic and vertical straight lines. Shin’s sketch featured more curves. The final award pairs the two designs, with subtle curves softening to straight lines. 

“Designing for the four honorees was a privilege,” Pinks said about the experience. “They are at the top of what they do; I’m only just starting, and I’m already able to do something for them. It’s a good feeling.”