Every one of us has stared in frustration at a poorly designed product and boldly declared, “I could design something better than this!”

But how many of us actually get to work on doing just that?

This past summer, San Gabriel High School junior Lana Vong took Introduction to Product Design through Saturday High—Art Center College of Design’s program that helps high school students become better artists, designers and thinkers—and created the concept for Stikitti, a cat-shaped foam sticker maker.

“Lana’s foam sticker maker project is a classic example of how product designers have the power to improve the things they love to do,” says instructor Jeffrey B. Jones. “On the first day of class, I simply asked her what she liked to do. She pulled out one of her foam stickers and said, ‘Well, I like to make these.’ I asked her how she could improve the way kids make stickers, and the rest was history.”

We caught up with Vong to learn more about the story behind Stikitti.

Dotted Line: How did you find out about Saturday High?
Lana Vong: I joined my high school’s art club, and the club’s president was going to enter Art Center’s Graphic Design program this year after graduation. I was interested in product design so I started asking her for advice and she suggested Saturday High.

Dotted Line: How long have you been interested in product design?
Vong: For about a year. Joining the art club made me more open to creative careers, and I thought product design was a good balance between creative and critical thinking.

Dotted Line: Tell us about your Introduction to Product Design course.
Vong: Our instructor, Jeffrey Jones, had us do one major project throughout the course. There were three stages to it. The first stage was the research stage, where we planned out our project based on the idea we had in mind. Next was the exploration stage, which is where we started drawing and testing out different ways to approach the project. And the last stage was the refinement stage and the making of the final product.

Dotted Line: Had you ever been involved in a similar three-step creative process?
Vong: No, it was all new to me. When I first heard of Introduction to Product Design, I thought we’d be learning about marker techniques. But we ended up focusing more on the thinking and reasoning behind our products. It was almost like solving a math problem. I really liked it.

Dotted Line: Did the class keep you pretty busy?
Vong: The instructor tried to keep our load light, in terms of how much work we took home. Even so, I found myself thinking about my project a lot. In addition to my Saturday High course, I was also volunteering with elementary school kids at the San Gabriel Library at that time, so it was all connecting together.

Dotted Line: What’s the basic concept behind Stikitti?
Vong: It’s based on a hobby of mine. I make my own stickers and hand them out to kids and they really seem to like them. I thought it would be cool if kids could make them on their own. So I came up with a design that kids would both like and want to use.

Dotted Line: How does the device work?
Vong: I noticed that my stickers look like little cookies with icing on top, so Stikitti mimics the cookie cutter process. Kids open the mouth of the cat, insert the foam, and cut the foam into any shape they want.

Dotted Line: Why did you end up going with the cat design?
Vong: I thought it would be more fun for kids to open the cat’s mouth to insert the foam and to take the foam scraps out from the back. [Editor’s note: Let’s just say the Stikitti playfully mimics the digestive process.]

Dotted Line: What was the class response to your final project?
Vong: All my classmates thought it was cute. My instructor said that he could see it on store shelves. And he thought it was cute, too. (laughs)

Dotted Line: What was Jeffrey Jones like as an instructor?
Vong: He’s awesome. He was really supportive throughout the course. He didn’t make us draw in styles that we were uncomfortable with. He would lay out the techniques that we needed to try, but he always encouraged us to stick with our personal style. I also thought it was really cool that we could choose to design any product we wanted.

Dotted Line: There were no limits to what you could design?
Vong: None. One student designed earphones for people who do rigorous tasks. Another person designed Christmas lights that could wrap themselves around a tree.

Dotted Line: How would you describe your style?
Vong: It’s a softer style. When Jeff saw my work, he noticed how everything, especially my pencil work, was really light. He didn’t force me to do any hard pencil work or dark outlines. However, he did suggest to me certain tools that improved my style.

Dotted Line: Is product design something you’re interested in pursuing as a career?
Vong: Yes. The class made me want to dive deeper into product design. I’m hoping that I can take more Saturday High courses, and hopefully pursue the next stage of product design.

Dotted Line: Did the class change your ideas about the nature of design?
Vong: Definitely. At first I thought design was just about aesthetics, the beauty and the art of the design itself. I didn’t really take into consideration how a product functions.

Dotted Line: Did you learn anything about your own approach to design?
Vong: One thing I noticed is that that every student had a different way of approaching their projects. Some people would get a great idea and instantly put it down on paper. For me, I took information from my surroundings, like my work with kids, and then slowly got it down on paper.

Dotted Line: Do you have any advice for students interested in design?
Vong: Go for it. If somebody had asked me two years ago if they should consider a creative career, I would have said no. But joining my school’s art club, taking the Saturday High course and seeing what other artists are doing really changed my mind. It sparked an interest in me to go after a creative career.

Product design is just one of several career options you can explore through Art Center College of Design’s Saturday High. Classes begin October 1 and fill up quicky, so register today!