Practice Makes Practice : 10,000 Hours Later and a Great Deal Wiser

Abstract

This paper is a in depth review of a designer’s process over the course of three years of graduate school, culminating in a scenic design for Side Show. A narrative account of a design from early stages through final evaluation, this essay hardly resembles a thesis paper at all. With Side Show as a framework through which the author traces improvement in craft skills, design thinking, and critical evaluation, she offers supporting evidence in the form of drawings, draftings, models, and research. In addition to these relevant design materials, the designer presents proofs of her own personal growth, both as a student and as a designer.