Senior Success: Interior Designer Martina Hanna Shares Her Highlights at HCAD and NJIT
When Martina Hanna ’24 started her studies at NJIT, she was a civil engineering major. But when the pandemic hit, she took a different route, one that was meant to be.
“I was just too scared to do it because I didn't have a portfolio,” Hanna explained the process of switching her major to interior design. “But during COVID I had so much free time that I actually developed one and really looked into it more. I got in, they let me change my majors. I was like, ‘amazing!’”
As she looks back to those days, she notes how the classes weren’t feeding her creative side.
Hanna’s passion for architecture and interior design started in her native Egypt. “I moved [to New Jersey] when I was 10, so I lived in Egypt my entire life and growing up, I loved going to all these different places and trying to learn, how did they build it? I mean the pyramids are there, so I'm always asking, ‘what's going on, what’s happening?’
Hanna always had an interest in architecture. Living in an Islamic country and being Coptic allowed her to see all the architectural features in the churches. “I felt very connected to that side, and I was really interested in architecture. Moving here, I saw a lot of different styles, it was like a flip of a coin,” she described. “I grew up painting, I grew up drawing, a lot of my family members like to do that too.”
Through the years at NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design, Hanna has garnered plenty of awards and scholarships, which include: HCAD’s Second and Third Year Excellence in Design Award, 2023 NJIT Design Showcase Honorable Mention in Interior Design, 2022 Finalist in the London International Creative Competition, IIDA PA/NJ/DE 2021-22 Student Showcase Competition Honorable Mention, and Recipient of the Daniel D’Agostino, AIA ‘06/Plan Architecture Scholarship.
METROPOLIS Future100 Designer
Recently, Hanna’s name appeared in the METROPOLIS Future100 Class of 2024, which recognizes the top-100 graduating students from architecture and interior design programs in the United States and Canada.
“It means so much to me because the last four years being in design school has been so up and down, some days you feel so inspired, some days you don’t,” said Hanna. “So to get the recognition that you're doing something right, and especially that it's from the U.S. and Canada. It means a lot that they looked into me, and they're like, ‘Yeah, she has potential, let's select her.’ It means a lot, and I'm just really excited for what’s going to come from that.”
She’s currently a design consultant at RH, an interior design company. She helps with presentations and clients. Another internship she completed was with designer Beth Diana Smith, where one of her tasks was to research fixtures and furnishings aligned with project requirements and design style.
As she looks back at the projects that won her plaudits, Hanna likes to look back at a project titled “Lumos Cafe,” which was a 2022 finalist in the London International Creative Competition.
“That was really one of my favorites because I really pushed myself, and it was really out of my comfort zone, something that's not so normal. I feel that's what put me on the map. My professor [Glenn Goldman] recognized my hard work and really pushed me,” she said. “He told all of us don’t design afraid, don’t be scared of what you want to do, and that’s what got me through all these years.
“I think the cafe is such a risk, and such a different design that you don't really see around, it's just been my favorite. And I’ve had the most fun doing it.”
Professors Goldman and David Brothers helped shape Hanna’s interior design skills and will always hold a special place in her heart. “They're both knowledgeable, and they’ve helped me so much on what my project should be, professionally. They've written me so many recommendations, they've connected me to other professionals. So they’ll always hold a special place in my heart. I really love them. They’re amazing,” she said.
Inspired by other designers like Karim Rashid, India Mahdavi and Zaha Hadid, Hanna plans to travel in the summer to gain more inspiration as she prepares for her next career move.
She looks forward to traveling to places like Italy and Barcelona. “I take inspiration from any places I've visited, or I want to go to,” she said. “My style is all over the place, but a lot of my inspiration is just from what I've been to and where I want to go, what other people have done, and how I can make that better and personal. It's always very important to me to make it personal because that’s how design evolves.”
When asked about what advice she could give to incoming interior design students, Hanna says to have fun with the process. “This is the time to have fun because in the real world, a lot of what you want to do, unless you're in a great position, you won't be able to do. This is the time to take the risks, do the different floor plan that you want to do, do the different patterns, do the different colors.”
“I think that's what made my time so enjoyable that I was doing things so out of the box and ordinary, but that's literally what got me to where I am now because my professors really saw that and they encouraged it.”
