Sabrina L Frey
I love people & places and my many years of experience has taught me that "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did". Living by this philosophy has allowed me expand myself as a designer in the world of Graphics, Marketing, Interior and Architectural Design. As I have always been a designer, I have also always been a teacher, beginning in corporate boardrooms and training sessions to client meetings and finally the classroom. Being a designer, wife and mother, I have endeavored to remain a priority and am therefore constantly discovering and developing new aspects about myself that both intrigue and excite me. Fulfillment in life as about exploring and learning, and I hope that the reflection of my life lies in what I scatter, not what I gather.
Designer
As a designer I hold myself to three principles: people, functionality and betterment. Understanding people and helping them translate their ideas and dreams into reality has always been my passion. But, I also know that in order to understand people a designer must study them, speak with them and most of all listen to them. Creating spaces for people should be about invigorating the senses and renewing a user’s sense of anticipation. At the core of any good design is functionality, the design should serve a purpose even if that purpose is simply to make you feel good. The betterment of lives is the heart of my passion for spatial planning and my focus on architectural and interior design has allowed this passion to grow and thrive. The importance of not just knowing that something can be done, but also understanding how it will be done has lead me to seek out the hands on experience necessary to be successful in the design world. This aspect of my background has also allowed me to exercise my knowledge of sustainable building practices and alternative building methods. Hands on knowledge of construction methods and techniques has resulted in my clients coming to value me for my professionalism and willingness to "find a way" while sharing the why and how.
Academia
Academia has proven to be my most fulfilling challenge so far by allowing use of all my skills in one setting. My current situation allows for designing, managing, and developing interior design curriculum and programs. Applying my program development and marketing background to this mix has yielded incredible results in program growth and expansion. Working directly with students and administration to make interior design education more accessible for everyone who has dreams to fulfill is the most rewarding aspect. I look forward to continued expansion of my experience and being an integral part of our school and it's goals for the future.
Teaching and Research
Teaching and researching are symbiotic and should never be seen as disparate. Our world is ever changing and in order to teach about it we must constantly chase the new as well as preserving past knowledge. My practical experience in the built environment showed me that the creation of space is a multidisciplinary effort and can only be effectively executed by exercising the entire process. As all the disciplines need to be acknowledged, our role as designers in their part of the solution must also be understood. Our respect for their contribution and willingness to learn from them and teach about the collaborative effort can only better the experience for future clients. The design process and hands-on designing is also important to integrate into the classroom and should not be skimmed over for the final presentation.
The betterment of people and their environment lies at the heart of every design, so I endeavor to understand people and their relationship to that environment. My current research places these efforts on a global level with the desire to improve well-being by studying and acknowledging the elevated well-being status of the certain populations. To better prepare students to work with people I feel it is important to understand and teach students about global cultures and how people live within these cultures. Design students futures depend on students preparing for a culturally interactive world that seems to shrink every day. My goal is to motivate and inspire students to open themselves up to the possibilities, not just in their designs but themselves, and what the future has to offer them. This perspective has proven successful in inspiring my students who remain excited to learn and has resulted in positive student evaluations.
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