Leon Carranza

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ABOUT ME

I am currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Architecture at Cornell University. I come from a background of graphic design, traditional art, technology, and social change. I carry forward all of these aspects with me in my design practice, as I continually create bridges between the different branches of knowledge that I engage with in the university.


I am ultimately pursuing a career in Computational Design. My experiences in architecture involved several tools for digital fabrication, parametric design, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Likewise, the classes I have taken outside of my department, including in computer science, game design, and cultural studies, have helped me to see the world through different, yet fundamentally related, ontological lenses. This accumulation of skills and experiences make me excited to work in a field dedicated to exploring design, computers, interactions, and the intersections between fields of knowledge.

RESUME

PROGRAM SKILLS

EDUCATION

Cornell University (2020-2025)

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (B. Arch.)

Work Experience

eCornell (2021-present)

Digital Marketing Intern.
Build webpages, imagery for keynotes, pdfs for course and certificate catalogues, posts for social media promotions, and animated visuals.

Groove that Goob! Steam Release(2023)

Design Lead.
Oversaw the advertising, social media marketing, and animation of Groove that Goob for its Steam Release

Eighty6 Digital Marketing Agency (2019-2020)

Digital Marketing Intern.
Formatted magazines, cards, logos, mockups, and other design commissions through Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Harmon Face Values (2020-2021)

Retail Associate.
Ran cash register, maintained cleanliness of aisles.

Midnight Smack!(2024)

Co-Design Lead.
Led and oversaw a multidisciplinary team of designers and programmers on the production of an action-platformer-cooking hybrid game for the Steam Deck. Organized, distributed, and participated in tasks involving animation, music integration, asset creation, and level design.

RELEVANT CLASSES

Core Architecture Design Studio

Taken every semester since 2020

Produce architectural drawings, plans, sections, models, and other fabricated objects for 2-3 semester-long projects. Through these classes, I have learned more about the iterative design process, time management, and what it truly means to be critical of one's work. In my 2023 Fall Semester, my focus was on creating a foundational understanding of machine learning and neural networks, and artificial intelligence. The following 2024 Spring semester expanded on this by integrating Generative AI tools as a part of our design process.

CS1110: Introduction to Computing: A Design and Development Perspective

Spring 2024

Learned the fundamentals of Python programming, and advanced topics including modules, libraries, objects, creating classes, recursion, and searching algorithms. 7 projects were assigned pertaining to these topics throughout the semester. External to the class, I learned to integrate python scripts

Coding for Design

Spring 2024

In department architecture elective in which we learned the fundamentals of programming in C# for Unity. Culminated into a final project for the semester in which I built a VR game with a team of three.

Urban Simulations

Spring 2023

In department architecture elective in which we learned the fundamentals of programming through blueprints in Unreal Engine. This was my first time truly experiencing object-oriented programming through the lens of node-based, visual programming, as well as my first time using a program to dynamically represent a designed interaction.

INFO 1300: Introductory Design and Programming for the Web

Spring 2022

Out-of-department elective which introduced me to web development, hosting, and the design and testing process. I learned, in particular how to make websites more accessible through responsive html, css, and jquery scripts. These methods are what this website is built upon.