HCD UAE brings Portfolio Review to NYUAD Students

Portfolio reviews for undergrads can be intimidating. Putting your work in front of industry professionals for the first time is no small feat. But when the NYUAD Arts & Humanities Visual Design Lab hosted a portfolio critique session with the Human Centred Design (HCD) UAE Meetup on November 5, 2025, four brave undergraduate students did exactly that.

Co-organized by the student-led Design Collective club alongside Goffredo Puccetti and Erin Collins, the evening brought together students and seasoned professionals for talk about design work, career development, and how to present yourself. Over 15 students came to learn what professional design critique actually looks like.

The panel featured four local design professionals: Jonathan Steingiesser, Chris Clark, Jue Lu, and Gianluigi Fragomeni, who brought diverse perspectives from product design, service design, branding, and innovation. Their feedback covered not only design craft but also professional development, effective storytelling, and career pathways.

"The students came prepared, curious, and fearless — asking sharp, thoughtful questions that made the discussion as valuable for us as it was for them," reflected Chris Clark, Innovation Lead at Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, in a post following the event.

For students like Shan Leo Yong, a psychology major with a passion for design, the session provided invaluable insights. "One message that really stood out to me was from Jue Lu, who shared that 'design, simply stated, is art and science,'" Shan shared. "Coming from a background in biology, chemistry, and math, and now studying psychology while pursuing my passion for the arts, that statement deeply resonated with me."

Beyond portfolio feedback, the panelists emphasized practical career advice, with Jonathan Steingiesser encouraging students to start building their professional presence and sharing their design stories early in their careers. Events like these create opportunities for mentorship, learning, and growth beyond the classroom, connecting NYUAD students to the growing design community right here in Abu Dhabi.

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