A Child’s Playtime Becomes a Lifetime.
- Attended Monona Grove High School, Monona, WI
- graduated 2003, BFA Industrial Design
- currently Head of Design, RCS Retail Interiors
Aaron Holder
“My goal for the future is to keep my day job interesting and rewarding Industrial Design was a way for me to use my skills and passions in the real world, and that still holds true today.”
Holder’s bookshelves are lined with meticulously built model cars, a sign of his passion for building, products, details, and design. Although Holder has grown up, he effuses the energy and excitement of a young boy when he speaks about Industrial Design. From building car models to designing high-end retail interiors, as well as point-of-purchase displays, Holder’s childhood dreams have manifested themselves into an everyday reality.
Q. What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?
A. Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be an architect. In my junior year of high school I realized that I really do not like math…and I didn’t want to go to college for six to eight years.
Q. What is your first memorable experience with art and design?
A. My first memorable experience with art and design is from my childhood. I liked to draw a lot, and I liked to play with Legos which are the greatest toys/ learning tool since the existence of anything. I was very good at constructing a replica (out of Legos) of the helicopter from the television series Air Wolf.
Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD?
A. I learned how to work with other people, a skill that is obviously critical as a designer. The world of design is, in fact, a very small world and you never know when you’ll come across a familiar face. Thus, it is better to make friends than foes.
Without the skills I learned at MIAD and the degree I obtained, I would not be working in the design field.
Q. What would you tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you have experienced life after graduation?
A. New students should not fear the world that awaits them after college. Hard work and dedication will definitely pay off.
