Why artist need artist statement? I think it is for two reasons: Express and understanding. In my opinion, artist statement is not about teaching how to feel, or what to act. It is about using simple words to help artists to have a better express their words, and help audiences to have a better understanding arts. Write artist statement in language that anyone can understand is the core.
In terms of personal statement, beside regular conventions, the primary thing is about expressing your passion. A passionate person is very attractive naturally. Meanwhile, in those passionate stories, you can express your style of design.
Those are some examples of personal statement for interior design.
I attached my pervious personal statement for Pratt. Because I am career switcher, so I explained more in reasons. I know this is not what we need use in further. However, it is the experience I wanna share with you guys.
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Concept：If a man can do something he is fond of and good at, he is happy; if it happens to bring him satisfying economic return, he is lucky indeed.
Part 1: A bold but prudent decision:
I acknowledge that, in the eyes of others, I am an adventurous girl, because I am a female who is not very young, and I resigned a favorable post and came to a foreign country to study for a master’s degree in a research area that is totally new to me. However, in my opinion, if the several-year period is compared to my whole lifetime, I think it is worthwhile to spend the time doing what I like to do and what is suitable for me to do. Personally speaking, if a man can do something he is fond of and good at, he is happy; if it happens to bring him satisfying economic return, he is lucky indeed. In fact, most young people fail to find what they really like and what is suitable for them, as did I before. What’s more, some people even spend time on things they dislike and are not skilled in. Consequently, it seems that they are always on the run, but they accomplish nothing. I don’t want to be such a person; rather, I want to be the lucky one.
Part 2:Smooth-going learning and job hunting:
In my opinion, when I am still young, I'd better be brave enough to undergo many hardships, if necessary, and to perform a critical self-analysis and develop my potentials. I was born into a merchant's family. In my teens, I majored in Commercial Economy at one of the top ten business schools in Britain, according to the wishes of my family. I was bold and adventurous even when I was a little girl. I chose Britain because I wanted to participate in an interesting civilization that is different from China. I gained a lot during my five years of learning abroad.
After I came back to China, though the world was troubled with an economic crisis at that time, I was lucky enough to find a job without too many difficulties at Citic Securities, the biggest investment bank in Asia, where I became a Stock Index Futures Analyst. I worked in the financial industry there for three years, which offered me a good chance to use what I learned before and enabled me to thoroughly comprehend the ups and downs of the industry. All in all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the finance industry as it provided me with a platform to significantly enlarge my scope of knowledge and made me grow up rapidly. Comparing to many people, my learning and job hunting seem to occur with no problems at all.
Part 3:Unusual experience of investment: During my three years of work at Citic Securities, I allowed my commerce and investment genes to express themselves freely.
In early 2009, I began to invest in the real estate sector. At first, I only intended to meet my own living needs. I bought a small studio in the core area of Shenzhen’s Central Business District. This was at the worst point of the economic crisis, but I was lucky enough to purchase the studio at the lowest price. This was my first house in my life. Because of limitations of cost and time, I performed all the designing, purchasing and supervising work myself. I hired a worker to assist me. Though it was my first time to decorate, I had many inspirations because I had read magazines on interior decoration from time to time since I was very young. When the project was finished, I was satisfied with my “first try”.
Four months later, thanks to the loose economic policies, the price of houses in my area increased by 20% compared to the price at the time when I bought my house. What’s more, the decorations increased the value of my house even more, or nearly 110% of the market price. I bought the house with loans of 1 million RMB，and the down payment was 20% of the total price. After I sold the house, I enjoyed a rate of return of 150%. I expected that the house price would be rising dramatically. What I did not expect was that I could beautify my house at low cost but with high efficiency. House prices varied substantially before and after decoration. The cash cost of my first try was 10 thousand RMB and the time required was two days. As a result, the sale of my “first try” brought me an additional 70 thousand RMB compared with similar, but undecorated houses in the area.
While real estate prices were rising, I decisively sold my house and began to seek another “bamboo shoot premise (a very profitable one)” whenever I was free. I wanted to build an impressive personal space by strictly controlling the cost. During the day, I was an eye-catching girl engaged in finance; while in the evening, I turned into a “dusty laborer”. I was thrown into a sea of fatigue at the end of a day, but my joy surpassed the fatigue when I relived the experience of this role shift and watched the empty house gradually change into an admirable personal space.
Part 4: Discovering new highlights in my life:
In a short two and a half years, I decorated five houses on my own during my spare time. In such an “arbitrage”, not only did I gain a lot (the money I earned was enough to support my three years of learning in America), but also, I discovered another potential of mine in the unprecedented experience of interior design. I enjoyed selecting compatible furniture on the internet, and ordering suitable paints and floor boards at B&Q and discussing design plans with workers more than simply making money. I spent only limited time on the decoration of each house, but each visitor witnessed at first glance my absorption in the design and my delight after realizing one of my ideas. Through two odd years of practice and self-examination, I finally made up my mind to apply to study for the major of Interior Design at your university. I sincerely hope that in the future I could be an interior designer to which I’ll contribute all of my enthusiasm for the rest of my life.
Part 5: Possibility of turning hobby into productivity:
With my previous buying and selling experiences, I often ponder over the questions mentioned above. China's market for second-hand houses is still immature compared with those of developed countries. Eighty percent of second hand houses are ill-decorated or are equipped with broken furniture. Most second-hand house owners are eager to rent out or sell their houses. Though some are aware that fine renovation will bring them more profit, they have difficulty designing it themselves due to their limited energy and ability. If they hire a decoration engineering company, the design cost is significant, which raises the rent or selling price that must be charged.
The experience of living abroad enables me to believe this is a market with great potential. If there were a professional company capable of optimizing the rough and primitive arbitrage method and bring a new appearance to an old house with high efficiency and low cost, such a company would be warmly welcomed by customers in both the bull and bear markets of the real estate sector. Most people would be glad to purchase affordable houses that are both beautiful and comfortable. In addition, renovating old houses restrains the demand for new houses, which contributes to environment conservation. Above all, for me, I’m happy to turn my hobby into productivity.
Part 6: Works of a non-professional-“old house but new appearance”:
I am not an expert on interior decoration, and I am also curbed by the limited cost and time. All work is performed by me and a worker. I am the designer, supervisor, purchaser, carrier, painter and furniture fitter. Though the work is toilsome, it’s my honor to share with you my “works”, the theme of which is “Old House but New Appearance”. They are not exquisite, but what I want to highlight is a modern young person’s efforts to bring simple but creative new looks to old houses, which is also my contribution to interior design on a limited budget of both money and time.
It's a great joy for me to see that I have turned an empty old house into what I desire it to be. As for my works, I demonstrate them mainly with the pictures in my diary at my blog (http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/1738746143H). Because I am fond of photography, I also present some pictures that I took. I like photography because I can capture trifles in daily life that are capable of moving people and I like the means of quickly and eternally recording these scenes. It’s very important for a designer to have a pair of eyes good at discovering the beauty of life and a heart that is easily touched by the details that others tend to neglect. I sincerely hope you will like those works made by a non-professional.
Respected members of the enrollment office, this Personal Statement is the result of a prudent decision about which I have thought for a long time and which finally I have made. I deeply appreciate the time you spend considering this Statement and I sincerely hope to have the chance to study in your university and explore the area of which we are all fond: Interior Design.
