u/ConsiderationOk1766

this is gonna sound insanely specific but i genuinely need to ask because this has been sitting in my head for a while now

i'm an industrial design student and my professor is objectively VERY successful and respected internationally, but also very openly conservative/right-wing and studio critiques with him have honestly started becoming emotionally exhausting for me over time

i'm the only girl in my class and i'm also queer, and honestly i feel like it affects the way my professor treats me whether he realizes it or not. he talks down to me a LOT compared to the others and critiques with him have started feeling less like actual guidance and more like humiliation sometimes. he also says weird stuff occasionally like calling me "young lady / princess" and other comments that are way too personal/uncomfortable for a studio environment, and combined with the constant criticism it's gotten to a point where i feel tense every single time i have class with him.

... like atp i really hard to tell where the "normal harsh design critique"ends and where the weird power dynamics start. because whenever i feel uncomfortable i immediately start questioning myself like "am i overreacting? is this just studio culture? does he talk to everyone like this?" but deep down i honestly know he doesn't. like with the guys in class he can be harsh too, sure, but with me it often feels weirdly personal, dismissive or condescending in a way that sticks with me long after class ends

and i think what makes it worse is that industrial design already feels SO male dominated sometimes. being the only girl in the room already makes you hyperaware of yourself constantly, and being queer on top of that just adds another layer to it. sometimes i genuinely feel like im being perceived before im even being listened to.

also... people outside studio based majors don't fully understand how psychologically intense critiques and juries can become when there's already some kind of imbalance in the room socially or politically. after a while it stops feeling like people are just evaluating your work and starts feeling like your entire existence is being evaluated too.

idk. maybe this sounds ridiculous but lately i've started feeling genuinely isolated in this environment and its affecting both my confidence and the way i see my own work more than i want to admit...

i'm a second year industrial design student currently working on a project about products/furniture for compact urban living environments and i'm honestly starting to lose my mind 😭

i've already gone through so many ideas at this point (like genuinely 15+) and every single critique feels like im getting publicly executed for bringing up something that apparently "already exist" and every week i walk in thinking ok maybe THIS one works and every week i leave feeling dumber than before

i feel like i've reached that horrible stage where i don't even trust my own ideas anymore because the second i think of something my brain instantly goes "nah someone's probably already done that too"

and the thing that's messing with me the most is that i genuinely can't tell anymore if my ideas are actually bad or if i've just been criticized so much that i became scared of exploring anything at all ... i know design school is supposed to push you but this project has fully reached the point where it's making me question whether im creative at all anymore lmao

BUT I SWEAR I AM TRYING SO FCKN HARD. i am trying to avoid obvious transformable furniture stuff. like i know nobody wants to see "chair turns into table" for the millionth time 😭 but at the same time the project brief is literally about compact urban living so eventually almost every path starts leading back to adaptation/modularity/space saving in some way and i feel like im going insane trying to find a balance

i'm NOT looking for interior design ideas or tiny apartment layouts or decor inspiration. i'm specifically trying to find creative product/furniture concepts designed for small living spaces (things like adaptive furniture, multifunctional objects, transformable systems, hidden storage logic, compact domestic products, expandable cookware, modular kitchen products, collapsible household items, nesting objects, portable everyday products, deployable surfaces, integrated storage products, space-saving appliances, compact hygiene solutions, temporary-use domestic objects, hybrid tools, stackable products, etc.)

i'm especially interested in experimental or clever solutions that rethink everyday living behaviors in small apartments instead of just making furniture fold 15 different ways for no reason 😭

if anyone knows designers, studios, student projects, concept products, exhibitions, websites, rabbit holes, literally ANYTHING i should look into i would seriously appreciate it because i genuinely feel exhausted and creatively stuck at this point and i don't know where else to look anymore

and honestly if you randomly have a compact living problem/object/situation you've personally thought "there should be a better design solution for this" about PLEASE tell me because im genuinely struggling so BAD with this project

thank you