​INTERVIEWING FIONA BINGLEY

Her last name comes from either Irish or German ancestry and is 21 years old. Fiona followed up with saying that her birthday is in 4 days, so the 22nd of September and that makes her a Virgo! Growing up in Rockford, IL, also known as Glockford, named after infamously insane mall shootings, as a high schooler, Fiona went to the mall with her friends and “not buy anything at all”. She told me that her sisters find her insane for even going to the mall because of the shooting, understandably.
 
Fashion, social issues, advertising design were Fiona’s top interests. Being a Communication Designer major with an illustration minor, she enjoys tackling social issues relating to feminism, menstrual health, and black lives matter. Currently, her thesis project is focused on social issue with menstrual health. People at MIAD may know her best from the project, “Period Party”. Sadly, the overwhelming amount of gender-based terminology of the project offended gender nonconforming individuals. This was hard on the project as it took a toll on the success of the project.
 
Taking a social media design class opened Fiona up to the world of bringing design and social justice causes. Since she works the best when, “being told what to do,” that was a no-brainer along with the advertising design class. She enjoyed these classes the most because of the aspect of raising awareness and the straightforward approach to designing. Another gift she has is copy writing. I asked her to come up with a quick slogan to sell her necklace and replied with, “dead aunt, at least you got a necklace”. This is the future she is focusing on, to work for an advertising agency and senior thesis. Her inner fire is being fueled by her exciting design classes. Being able to focus her excitement to her project is pushing her to keep moving forward.