Designer Spotlight: Kelley O’Leary

Feb 11, 2016 | Designer Spotlight

Favorite things:

Pantone Color: 3125c

Phone App: Instagram

Musical Group: Fall Out Boy

Sports Team: Boston Red Sox

Ice Cream: Cookie Dough

Meal: Any type of pasta…. I love carbs!

Season: Spring

Let’s get personal:

Deepest Fear: I am not a fan of fire.  I always check to make sure the oven is off so I don’t burn down my apartment.

Favorite way to waste a Saturday: Movies or TV on the couch in my pajamas – I like my weekends low-key and relaxing

Superpower you wish you had: I wish I could fly.  It would make getting around a lot easier!

When I was little I wanted to be….?: A Teacher.

Most memorable design school project?

I really want to get into jewelry making.  I’m big into fun, colorful jewelry and I have a LOT of earrings.  It would be awesome if I could make them for myself!

Who is a designer that inspires you?

I have always loved Mies van der Rohe.  I admire his elegant simplicity.  I wish I could create things that were that impactful without being overdone.

Who is a designer that inspires you?

I think the most unique project I did in school was a competition to design a kiosk to sell headphones for a retail design competition.  Having a project that was different and required a lot of creativity in a small footprint was exciting!  I got to satisfy the science nerd in me with research on sound waves and the graphic artist in me with branding design.

If you could design anything, what would it be?

I am really intrigued by how people interact with their environment.  I would love to design an office where I could do a lot of programming and psychological research to really optimize the space to people’s behavior while also having it be modern and cool.  Having the ability to test out new ways of working really intrigues me – so it could almost be a test lab of sorts.  For me it isn’t just the design itself but how it will really impact the inhabitants.