What happens when a profession built on mass production begins to question its own legacy?

That question sits at the heart of re:purposed — the evolution of industrial design, a new documentary co-produced by the College of Design’s Department Head of Graphic & Experience Design and Industrial Design Audrey Barnes and visual storyteller John Trice.

Bringing together designers, educators and industry leaders from across the country, the film examines how industrial design has evolved over the past century and where it may be headed next. The result is a candid conversation about collaboration, empathy, emerging technology and sustainability, offering a vision of a profession that is increasingly focused not only on creating products but on shaping experiences, systems and meaningful human outcomes.

“Industrial design was shaped by mass production,” says Barnes, who is also the film’s narrator. Today’s designers, however, are navigating a much broader landscape.

For many of the documentary’s participants, industrial design is no longer defined solely by the creation of manufactured objects. Instead, it has expanded into service design, strategy, systems thinking and social impact. Designers are increasingly called upon to bridge disciplines, connect stakeholders and translate complex ideas into tangible solutions.

“Industrial design is a set of tools and processes for thinking about problems,” says designer and educator Ayako Maruyama. Others describe designers as interpreters who help bring together perspectives from business, engineering, marketing and users, transforming conversation into action through visualization and prototyping.

That collaborative mindset emerges as one of the film’s central themes.

For decades, popular culture often portrayed designers as lone visionaries working in isolation. re:purposed challenges that narrative, highlighting the reality that meaningful design happens through teamwork, shared expertise and collective creativity.

Educator and industrial designer Khipra Nichols compares the process to jazz musicians improvising together. Each participant contributes a unique skill set, but the most successful outcomes emerge when those talents work in harmony.

The film also explores the role empathy plays in contemporary design practice. Through stories ranging from products developed for visually-impaired users to wearable technology designed for women experiencing menopause, participants demonstrate how understanding people’s lived experiences leads to more meaningful solutions.

Those conversations naturally lead to questions of representation and inclusion. Several contributors discuss the importance of bringing diverse perspectives into the design process, arguing that designers cannot effectively address challenges they do not fully understand. By listening to users, engaging communities and embracing a wider range of voices, designers can move beyond assumptions and create products and services that better serve the people who use them.

Technology represents another significant area of transformation.

“Industrial design spent a century perfecting mass manufacturing. The next century might just be about unmaking that legacy.”

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into design workflows, participants suggest that designers may spend less time on repetitive production tasks and more time serving as creative directors, strategists and curators. Rather than replacing designers, emerging technologies have the potential to amplify human creativity and free practitioners to focus on larger questions of meaning, experience and impact.

Yet perhaps the documentary’s most compelling discussion centers on sustainability.

The film acknowledges an uncomfortable reality: industrial design helped fuel a century of consumerism, mass production and waste. Now, many designers are asking how the profession can help address those same challenges.

Participants describe a growing interest in repair, maintenance, local manufacturing and circular systems. Instead of measuring success solely through sales or market share, they envision a future where designers are evaluated by the long-term impact of their work on people and the planet.

“Industrial design spent a century perfecting mass manufacturing,” concludes Barnes. “The next century might just be about unmaking that legacy.”

Throughout re:purposed, optimism remains a constant undercurrent. Contributors point to a new generation of designers eager to rethink established systems, challenge assumptions and imagine alternative futures. Their tools may look different than those of previous generations, but their mission remains rooted in the same fundamental goal: improving the human experience through design.

For educators and practitioners alike, the documentary serves as both reflection and invitation. It asks viewers to consider not only what industrial design has been, but what it can become.

About Such Nice People

Audrey and John have been friends since childhood, and in 2023 they created Such Nice People to document a sabbatical project exploring the state of Industrial Design. What started small and simple took on a life of its own and became re:purposed. At its core, Such Nice People is built on a shared belief in provocative storytelling — work that sparks dialog and action toward a more equitable world. The duo plans to continue making films that illuminate the overlooked corners of the design profession.