Historically the Design Studio 1: Personal Identity course has focused on students exploring their own personal means of expression. As designers they are often drawing upon and exploring subject matter that they are personally drawn to in order to build their research further for their design development. Research material is often something deeply personal to them - explored through objects, text, photography, clothing, the everyday, etc. and more often the experiential. The course additionally challenges students to re-establish an understanding of their own convictions, skillsets and philosophies in the context of identity: What is personal? What constitutes an identity? How can opposing perceptions lead to a unified design philosophy / language? The best way to answer these questions is through the practice of collaboration. Design Studio 1: Personal Identity is structured as a group project where the class is divided in several groups to work together in the pursuit of developing an 8 to 10 look collection, Portfolio and final Visual Representation (Photography/Film). Within this collaboration students are urged to identify their skill sets as designers and collectively utilize these skill sets in the realization of the project.