Name: Phnam Bagley (at left)
Hometown: Paris, France
Major: Master of Science in Space Architecture
Graduation Year: 2006
Current Employer: Nonfiction
Title: Co-Founder + Creative Director

Name: Mardis Bagley (at right)
Hometown: Champaign, Ilinois USA
Major: Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design
Graduation Year: 2006
Current Employer: Nonfiction
Title: Co-Founder + Creative Director

Why did you choose the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design? What drew you to design?
Mardis: Where many schools focus solely on form development, the University of Houston emphasizes ethnographic research, human factors, and impact design, in addition to form development. I joined the industrial design program in its infancy. This allowed me to be a part of the building blocks of the program, and to some degree, craft my own education. UH is very inclusive and offers a wide variety of coursework befitting a major university.

Phnam: I was invited to study space architecture as a graduate student, so I attended the program right after I was done with my studies in France and Denmark.

What is one of your favorite memories from your time on campus? Was there a particular professor who influenced your education?
Mardis: During the first year of undergraduate design, the industrial design and architecture students shared their core studio. This allowed me to experience two different disciplines and their respective approaches. I have developed many lifelong relationships through that coursework and still have many friends in the architecture field today.

Phnam: I have fond memories of chatting for hours with professor Larry Bell about space, life, architecture, and art.

What does a typical day look like in your job? Do you have a particular design or business philosophy?
As consultancy owners, our roles consist of inspiring clients and team members to look beyond what is possible and then make it a reality. Our goal is to change the world for the better. We merge different disciplines including science, technology, business, art, and design to create meaningful innovation. We also have three criteria to work with Nonfiction.

1. The design must be novel technology, allowing us to progress forward as a species.
2. The design must follow the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, or maybe we should not be making it.
3. The design must have a path to reality. Concepts are great, but turning an idea into reality can create a lasting, positive impact on the world.

What is one career accomplishment of which you are particularly proud? How do you feel the College prepared you for this?
We work in many fields including medical devices, neuroscience and psychology, behavior change, and products for outer space. We have designed, and in some cases engineered, a number of products we are very proud of including a neuromodulator that received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation by helping people regain movement after traumatic spinal cord injuries. We have created an FDA-approved, non-invasive wearable that can provide therapy to many of the 25 million patients suffering from essential tremors. We are creating products to help police and military personnel manage stress and practice mindfulness, thereby making our world a safer place for everyone. We are currently designing food systems for long-term space travel that will help us become an interplanetary species. The systems we design and test in extreme environments like space can then be applied to our own changing environment here on planet Earth. Finally, we are exploring the future of education through physical space, and multisensory experiences aligning with individual neurodiversity.

What is one valuable lesson you learned during your time at the Hines College?
Diversity is our secret weapon. The University of Houston has an immensely diverse student body. Nonfiction is also a multidisciplinary and multicultural studio made of industrial designers, architects, computational and generative designers, researchers, and strategists with backgrounds from around the world, including Houston. This diverse and varied atmosphere encourages innovation, collaboration, and cross-pollination of ideas.

What piece of advice would you give to current architecture and design students?
Find your purpose and stick to it, even when things get tough. What will people say about you when you are gone? Will they tell a story of generosity, empathy, raising others up, and giving back, or will they tell a different story? You only have one chance on this planet. Make your impact positive.

You can find Nonfiction on the web, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Mardis and Phnam are also on LinkedIn.