Student designer spotlight
For IDSA
Designer spotlight: Derek Tucker, IDSA Student Merit Award Winner
When Derek Tucker thinks about the roots of his creativity, he remembers being a child and his father taking him into the garden behind their home to explore nature’s tiny details.
“We would overturn rocks and look in the grass for different types of bugs to observe, and draw them in a sketch book,” he recalls. “So, I largely give my dad credit for the creativity genes. Later, that inspired finding creative passions like photography, ceramics, and eventually, design.”
Like many other industrial designers, Derek had an aptitude for engineering—but it was learning what he didn’t want to do that eventually led him to study ID at Auburn University.
“Going through two years of chemical and mechanical engineering, I realized I needed more of a human element,” he says. “Industrial design was the perfect blend of engineering-like problem solving and artistic creativity.”
Derek’s award-winning designs include Apollo, an infrared thermometer that aims to bring a delightful experience to the user, and Bebo, a friendly device that uses AI to offer companionship to long-term pediatric patients.
“I try to find the most efficient solution to better the user experience, but always find ways to add an entertaining or playful element,” Derek says. “Life is too short to use boring products.”
Derek received his bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Product Design from Auburn in 2021. After graduation, he joined the medical device company Medtronic as an Industrial Design and User Experience intern, working in the Diabetics Operational Unit.
“One day I hope to be in a position to teach, as I have always loved passing on the knowledge I have gained,” he says. “I believe the goal of every designer should be to help make the world better, and I would like to continue inspiring creativity, curiosity, and positivity through my work.”
Derek credits IDSA and the ID community at Auburn for his personal and professional development.
“IDSA has been a fantastic group to bring people together with the same passions to build a network of leaders and further design knowledge,” he says. “Really, my favorite thing is the people: my professors, who are always driven to teach and inspire creativity, and my fellow students, who continually impress me with their hard work and motivation—it’s never a dull all-nighter with them. The people are what I will miss the most.”
To current design students, Derek recommends savoring the experience.
“Work hard to be the best version of yourself and enjoy every day you’re in an environment that fosters creativity and passion,” he says. “Design has the power to change the world, and design school is where it starts. They always say it will go by in the blink of an eye, but you don’t realize it until it happens.”