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Newton D’Souza to lead doctoral programs for the College of Design

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Architecture student Hannah Wright holds a project model from class at her studio desk.

Oct 23, 2025

Bridging Spaces, People and Experiences: Q&A with Hannah Wright

Hannah Wright is a third-year architecture student at the College of Design. In 2023, Wright transferred to NC State from Northern Virginia Community College and shared her story with us as part of Transfer Student Appreciation Week.

Four IBM team members hold an award in formal wear

Oct 15, 2025

NC State Design Alumna Honored for Role in Award-Winning IBM AI Innovation

Industrial Design alumna Dipali Aphale (’17) is part of the IBM team recognized with Best AI Solution – Data Insights & Knowledge Management at the 2025 Banking Tech Awards USA. The winning project, IBM Synthetic Data Sets, uses artificial intelligence to generate realistic, privacy-protected data for safer innovation across industries.
Student Kai Kuwata turning a block of wood on a lathe in the materials lab at NC State's College of Design.

Oct 13, 2025

A Gift in Oak: Crafting Design, from Raleigh to Nagoya

Industrial design student Kai Kuwata honors 40 years of partnership between NC State and Nagoya University with a handcrafted oak bowl that symbolizes creativity, collaboration and design thinking.
Cover of Empty Pedestals Book with Elen Deming and Kofi Boone superimposed on top

Oct 8, 2025

Empty Pedestals Earns National Honors for Reframing Confederate Monuments

Empty Pedestals: Countering Confederate Narratives Through Public Design (LSU Press, 2024) has recently earned recognition at the national level for its ability to bring design and planning strategies to confront and transform spaces marked by endemic prejudice. The book received a 2025 Professional Award of Honor in Communications from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and was a finalist for the 2025 J.B. Jackson Book Prize from the University of Virginia (UVA) Center for Cultural Landscapes.

Gavin Smith at AFAC conference 2025.

Sep 23, 2025

Rethinking Disaster Resilience: A Call for Strategic Relocation

At the AFAC Conference in Perth, Australia, Dr. Gavin Smith highlighted the profound impact of climate change on community design and the necessity of strategic relocation from high-risk, flood-prone areas. Gavin Smith, PhD, FAICP, a professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning at the NC State College of Design, advocated for a mix of diverse resilience strategies, including new building codes and elevating homes, while also acknowledging the complex financial, political and social hurdles of implementing these measures.

Ben Marsigli at his desk

Sep 18, 2025

A Creative Compass: How Ben Marsigli Brings Collegiate Spirit into the Apparel Market

Ben Marsigli, creative director at Rhoback, shares how his time as a design studies major prepared him to create apparel for the brand, including an NC State collection. 
Students pictured through camera lens

Aug 12, 2025

Virtual Production Studio Relies on Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design announced that Raleigh-based NC State's Virtual Production Lab utilizes Blackmagic Design Products to help students experience a diverse range of applications, including filmmaking, AR/VR, concept development and live events.
Filming for NC State's eSports tournament taking place in the Virtual Production Lab

Jul 16, 2025

Designed to Play: The College of Design Makes Its Mark on Esports at NC State

NC State University’s esports program partnered with the College of Design to produce promotional content for the 2025 College League of Legends and Valorant Championship Grand Finals. Using virtual production technology, students created high-impact visuals that reflect the growing role of design and media in collegiate esports.
Designlife magazine cover 2025

Jun 10, 2025

Spring 2025 Designlife Magazine

The spring issue of Designlife magazine is here! Explore this issue for stories on the magazine’s new look and feel, the incredible work done by faculty, students and alumni and more. Explore the Issue Dean’s Message: Designing for Impact The College of Design continues to design for impact – to positively impact the human experience…
Lee Cherry in 3D fabrication lab

Jun 10, 2025

Scaling with Empathy: AI Solutions for Urban Planning

As cities and towns incorporate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) into urban planning, Lee Cherry is asking an important question: how can they best ensure AI is used fairly and ethically? The concept is at the heart of Cherry’s research as he pursues his Doctor of Design from NC State’s College of Design.
Jabria Oliver shares the focus of her research as a Master of Industrial Design student: a lack of menstrual hygiene for unhoused populations, a human-centered approach to a design problem.

Jun 10, 2025

Designing Dignity: Jabria Oliver’s Fight Against Period Poverty

Period poverty, defined as the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, safe facilities and adequate education, is a global issue affecting millions of people. For women experiencing homelessness, this often-overlooked challenge exacerbates an already precarious situation, forcing them to make impossible choices between basic needs. In an industry crowded with consumer electronics, automobiles and medical devices, Jabria Oliver, a recent graduate of the Master of Industrial Design program, is working to create a prominent space designing for social impact.
Maraffi instructs students on how to use the motion capture suit in front of the LED wall of the Virtual Production Lab.

Jun 10, 2025

At the Forefront: Making a Place in Virtual Production

A giant talking octopus in a lab nestled in the South American jungle. Actors and Hollywood filmmakers working to complete a Sci-Fi short over just four days. Off screen, technicians, camera operators and support staff create the immersive world displayed on the giant LED wall, using 3D printed props, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and generative AI. This is just another day in the Virtual Production Lab, where students and educators innovate and learn within this burgeoning field.
Students visited Espacio Escultórico, which means "sculptural space," a UNESCO World Heritage site made from volcanic rock at UNAM.

Jun 10, 2025

Global Perspectives in Design: How NC State’s Duda Program Shapes Design Students

Partnering with renowned Mexican architect Gabriela Carrillo, architecture and landscape architecture students explored the urban and environmental complexities of a metropolis rich in Indigenous history and modern challenges as part of this year’s Duda Visiting Designer Program.

A student photographs the projection of the earth for use in their studio project.

Jun 10, 2025

Bringing Visualization to Education: Designing an Out-of-This-World Museum Experience

Olga Njai, a student in the Master of Graphic & Experience Design program, is an experienced graphic designer. But her first studio in the program presented a challenge unlike any other she’d taken on before. The instructor, Associate Professor Deborah Littlejohn, tasked Njai and her classmates with creating a visual data story on the topic of their choice for the Durham Museum of Life and Science using NOAA's Science on A Sphere display.

Students from NC State Architecture Design + Build

Jun 10, 2025

Mindful Design: Students Create Shade Structures for Raleigh Skate Park

For architecture students in the Design + Build program, completing four shade structures for the Conlon Family Skatepark in just eleven weeks was a triumph. The second crowning achievement: spray-painted tags appeared soon after the artfully perforated, white panels were hoisted up and secured. For the team of four instructors and 15 students, it meant they had ensured that the design connected culturally with the intended community — a principle that lies at the heart of Design + Build.
mockups for the 2025 issue of designlife magazine

Jun 10, 2025

Embracing a New Look: Designlife Magazine Visualizes the Art of Making

This year, the Designlife magazine has a bold new look, envisioned by a group of students in the graphic & experience design program. Working with faculty advisor Jarrett Fuller, the students conceptualized and helped execute a creative refresh of the magazine in just
Leaders Council New Members 2025

Jun 3, 2025

Meet the newest members of the College of Design Leaders Council for 2025

The College of Design is excited to welcome six new members to its Leaders Council. Established in 2010, the Leaders Council of the NC State College of Design is a select group of alumni and friends in design-related professions across the country.

May 30, 2025

A Look Back at Art2Wear: Revive

In Art2Wear: Revive, students broke tradition and rebuilt something unforgettable. Through immersive design, mythic themes and a touch of plastic, the show redefined what wearable art can be.
Professor Gulling with book cover

May 28, 2025

Professor Gulling’s book wins 2025 BTES Book Award

Professor of Architecture Dana Gulling's most recent book, Custom Components in Architecture: Strategies for Customizing Repetitive Manufacturing, recently won the 2025 Building Technology Educators' Society (BTES) Book Award. The BTES Book Award recognizes an outstanding new book on the topic of building technologies that significantly contributes to building technology education in architecture.

architecture students and administrators pose

May 13, 2025

Architecture Program Wins National and Local AIA Awards

The School of Architecture, its alumni and students were recognized through national and state level awards from the American Institute of Architects.

College of Design Spring 2025 graduates

May 9, 2025

Congratulations, Spring 2025 Graduates!

The College of Design is proud to celebrate the graduates of the spring 2025 class.

Graphic & experience design students at their project presentations for SAS

Apr 30, 2025

NC State students use AI to help businesses work smarter, faster and friendlier

NC State College of Design students were tasked with creating an original B2B application incorporating generative AI to satisfy business and user needs. Using SAS’ tech stack for generative AI, students were asked to understand the data collection and output of generative AI.
Vincent Foote

Apr 29, 2025

Remembering Vincent M. Foote, FIDSA

The College of Design is saddened to share that Vincent M. Foote, FIDSA passed away on April 25, 2025. Foote was a longtime member of the College of Design’s industrial design faculty, influencing countless students over his forty-year teaching career. 
Members of the Natural Learning Initiative receive the Opal Mann Green Award

Apr 17, 2025

Design Faculty Win NC State Awards 

College of Design faculty are among those honored for their work in research, engagement and outreach across the university. The Natural Learning Initiative received the Opal Mann Green Award and Dana Gulling received the Outstanding Teacher Award.

Maestro's Theatre arcade game

Apr 14, 2025

Thinking with the box: Maestro’s Theatre delivers a new experience for arcade gameplay

A marionette character controlled by ragdoll gameplay. A rotating game screen embracing the look and feel of vintage theater. Limited computer graphics and limited time. All of these came together via a student team with limitless creativity and a desire to problem-solve to create Maestro’s Theatre, an arcade game developed by MADTech students and displayed at Super Magfest.

Kelly Umstead at her desk

Apr 3, 2025

“Design is about relationships” – Kelly Umstead named 2024-25 University Faculty Scholar

Kelly Umstead, MID faculty member and director of graduate programs for industrial design, was recently named one of NC State’s 2024-25 University Faculty Scholars. We’re excited to highlight Kelly’s achievements in the college and learn more about her. 
Yuanqing Tian

Apr 2, 2025

New Faculty Innovators in Design: Spotlight on Yuanqing Tian

As we showcase new faculty, we are excited to highlight Yuanqing “Ching” Tian, an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at North Carolina State University. With over 11 years of design experience, Ching’s research focuses on custom-fit wearable product design, leveraging 3D scanning technologies, parametric design, and digital fabrication. Her work aims to improve human health and wellness while promoting diversity and inclusion in design. Ching is passionate about exploring human-centered design opportunities through emerging technologies and enhancing ergonomics for diverse populations.
Demarcus Williams with College of Design Brooks Hall sign

Mar 19, 2025

Demarcus Williams ‘03 Creates Scholarship in Kermit Bailey’s Honor

Demarcus Williams [BGD '03] embodies the NC State spirit of think and do – driven, passionate and committed to giving back. His journey from an undergraduate student navigating college life to a successful marketing and communications professional was supported by a host of faculty in the graphic design program, particularly Kermit Bailey. Now, Williams is establishing a scholarship in Bailey's name, hoping to provide the same support he received to future generations of designers.
Header image featuring the GDUSA Logo with portraits of Rebecca Planchart and Megan Mersch

Mar 13, 2025

Two Graphic Design Students Featured on GDUSA’s Students to Watch List

Two students from the college's graphic and experience design program are making their mark on the industry. Megan Mersch is blending artistry with human-centered design to craft seamless digital experiences, while Rebecca Planchart is shaping the future of UX and AI, using design to bridge gaps in public health, government, and emerging technology. Meet GDUSA’s Students to Watch and see how they’re redefining what design can do.
Art2Wear Design by Adrienne McKenzie

Mar 13, 2025

Art2Wear pop-up gallery and live event at the Gregg Museum

This article was written by Kelsey Bohn and originally appeared in the Technician. See the original. The Gregg Museum of Art and Design opened a new Pop-Up Gallery Lounge entitled “Art2Wear: Through the Archives” Tuesday. The exhibition is in partnership with NC State’s Art2Wear club, which hosts an annual student-led showcase that displays a variety of innovative,…
Valeria Lopez Torres

Mar 5, 2025

New Faculty Innovators in Design: Spotlight on Valeria Lopez Torres 

Dr. Valeria López Torres is an assistant professor of graphic & experience design in the College of Design at North Carolina State University. As part of our spotlight on new faculty, we are excited to highlight her expertise in AI, interaction design, and UX/UI, showcasing the interdisciplinary approach she brings to design education and research.
ASLA The Dirt Climate Biodiversity Task Force

Feb 19, 2025

Landscape Architects Form Task Force to Scale Up Solutions to the Climate and Biodiversity Crises

Led by leaders in the field of landscape architecture, ASLA is developing an updated, profession-wide Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan. The new plan will be an update to the ASLA Climate Action Plan, which was released in 2022, and offer new goals and actions for 2026-2030. The scope of the new plan has been expanded – the climate and biodiversity crises will be treated as equal priorities, and the focus will be on actions that tackle both crises in an equitable way. The ambitious plan seeks to transform the practice of landscape architecture by 2040 through actions taken by ASLA and its members focused on biodiversity and ecological restoration, climate mitigation and adaptation, equity, and economic development. Meg Calkins, FASLA, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, NC State University, has been named Chair of the Task Force.

Byungsoo Kim

Feb 18, 2025

New Faculty Innovators in Design: Spotlight on Byungsoo Kim

Byungsoo Kim is an assistant professor in industrial design in the NC State College of Design. As part of our spotlight on new faculty, we are excited to highlight his teaching and expertise in product visualization and master’s-level studio projects, showcasing the innovative perspectives he brings to the College of Design.

Feb 17, 2025

College of Design Signs MOU with National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) 

The College of Design at NC State University has signed an MOU with the Faculty of Architecture of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma De México (UNAM) to promote academic and research activities between the two institutions and further affirm the value of international collaboration. Collaborations with UNAM will allow the college to extend its involvement in global issues related to urbanization and the environment and translate that knowledge into teaching and practice through the lens of a global framework. 

Aerial view of the Belltower and North Campus

Jan 17, 2025

A New Chapter for Inclusive Design: North Carolina State University and Steven Winter Associates Re-Envision the Center for Universal Design

North Carolina State University (NC State) and Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) are excited to announce a transformative partnership to revitalize the Center for Universal Design. After nearly 15 years of dormancy, the center is being reborn with a new mission: to support all stakeholders and users in creating accessible, inclusive environments that serve people of all abilities and backgrounds. The newly formed Alliance for Inclusive Design Practice and Research (the Alliance), co-directed by Traci Rose Rider, Ph.D, associate professor of architecture at NC State University, and Victoria Lanteigne, Ph.D., principal of research at SWA, represents a major leap forward in advancing equity in the built environment.
Roooted: the Embrace of Earth + Water Maggie Kroening - North Carolina State University

Jan 15, 2025

School of Architecture Students and Faculty Win Statewide Awards for Design

Eight student teams were recognized at the American Institute of Architects North Carolina Design and Chapter Awards. The School of Architecture was also recognized for teaching excellence through its Educator of the Year, Kamphoefner Prize, F. Carter Williams Gold Medal and Associate Award.

Jan 7, 2025

NC State Creatives: Tatiana Veloso

To Tatiana Veloso, design has a powerful ability to connect individuals to each other and to the places they inhabit. A 2024 graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program, her work bridges the gap between art, science, and community engagement.
research poster presentation

Nov 25, 2024

Doctoral Students Showcase Work through Design Probes: Research Strands

On November 21, the College of Design's doctoral programs brought together practitioners from the Doctor of Design and PhD in Design programs to showcase their outstanding research in a poster session and review titled "Design Probes: Research Strands." Students bridge academia and practice across diverse design fields, and the event showcased the collaborative ecosystem that spans the college's four departments and fosters a vibrant environment for interdisciplinary perspectives.

Nov 22, 2024

NC State Creatives: Lauren Miller

Lauren Miller, a recent graduate of NC State's College of Design, is an award-winning animator and storyteller. Her animated short Touch won 'Best of the Fest' at the Queer Expressions Film Festival. With a passion for human-centered design and uplifting underrepresented communities, Lauren creates work that resonates with diverse audiences.
Farmer Cee Stanley tossing hay from the back of a pickup truck.

Nov 12, 2024

Cultivating Design Solutions with Green Heffa Farms

In the spring of 2024, PhD student and instructor Erin White brought students from his D101 Design Thinking course to solve multiple challenges faced at Green Heffa Farms. The students, many of whom are not design majors, addressed challenges such as storage issues, workflow efficiency and social media strategy.
Goldsboro Community Floodprint

Oct 24, 2024

Work underway on Goldsboro flood mitigation and resilience project: three projects aim to protect property and increase flood resilience

A partnership between the state and City of Goldsboro has resulted in the completion of the Goldsboro Community Floodprint, and the initial implementation of the plan’s recommendations. The floodprint is a local plan that contains flood mitigation and resilience recommendations developed through public input and planning. Funded by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) using the state’s HUD mitigation grant and led by the N.C. State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL), this is the second of ten CDDL/NCORR community floodprints to be completed.
Matt Checkowski

Oct 21, 2024

College of Design Chooses Matt Checkowski ‘98 as 2024 Distinguished Alumnus

The College of Design is proud to recognize Matt Checkowski [BGD ‘98] as this year’s distinguished alumnus. Checkowski, vice president of multisensory brand innovation and strategy at Mastercard, will be honored at the Wolfpack Boards Luncheon in October and serve as the College of Design spring 2025 commencement speaker.  Matt Checkowski’s work explores the intersections of design, narrative and technology, working across boundaries to elevate and expand storytelling. 

Oct 8, 2024

Shawcroft Drawing Competition Celebrates 30th Year

Four students were awarded prizes for their work during the 30th Shawcroft Drawing Competition. Submissions are judged based on students’ use of hand drawing skills in the categories of the design process, documentation and analysis, and presentation.
People standing in water-flooded path next to pole markers

Sep 25, 2024

Memorializing Flooding: How a Chance Collaboration Led to a Landmark Public Art Project

In the world of design and public art, serendipity often plays a pivotal role. This was certainly the case for a group of designers and artists who, after initially crossing paths in the College of Design, found themselves working together years later on a significant public art project in Raleigh. This project, which began as an educational initiative, ultimately evolved into a large-scale installation that engages the community on multiple levels.
Student ASLA award winning project long marsh forward

Sep 17, 2024

Landscape Architecture Students Win National Awards for Fourth Year in a Row

The Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental planning is thrilled to share that student teams won national ASLA awards for the fourth year in a row. Since 2020, student teams in the Master of Landscape Architecture program have won 12 awards nationally.

A rendering of Danny Wang's project "micro-mobility" with an overlayed portrait of the designer in the image.

Sep 3, 2024

Recent Grad Brings Home 2024 IDSA Student Merit Award

Industrial Design alumnus Danny Wang [BID '24] recently won the IDSA Student Merit Award for the South District. This means Danny will compete at the International Design Conference & Education Symposium in Austin, Texas September 11-13 for the national award.
Samantha Krumbhaar's Paper Streets Projects utilizes tunnels made from natural materials to reference Hayti culture.

Aug 20, 2024

Bringing New Life to Paper Streets 

The City of Durham has over 600 “paper streets” - narrow strips of land planned for use as a street, but never built. College of Design students partnered with the city’s Office of Performance and Innovation to bring new life to these previously underutilized spaces, envisioning micro-parks, art installations, educational outdoor spaces, and valuable pedestrian corridors.
Thumbnail preview for Marc Russo's on the run animation

Aug 15, 2024

“A remix of Pink Floyd, 2001 Space Odyssey and Akira” – Faculty member enters Pink Floyd animation competition

Marc Russo can distinctly remember one of his first introductions to Pink Floyd. He was sitting on the front steps of his friend’s house in 1980, listening to “The Wall”, and he was 11 years old. “It was like a battle cry,” he says. “I didn’t understand much more of the album, but I was connected to this song.” 44 years after that first encounter, Russo, alumnus and associate professor of media arts, design and technology,  is connecting his love of Pink Floyd with his professional work in a different way - designing an animation as entry for a contest hosted by the band to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their release of “Dark Side of the Moon.”
Roxanne Hicklin and Derek Ham

Jul 30, 2024

A Love of Art and Technology

Roxanne Hicklin graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Salem College. She spent her summers as a sketch artist at Carowinds, capturing quick likenesses of people on the sidewalk before their attention wandered, along with their feet. Following graduation, she was able to parlay that skill into working at Channel 5 News as a courtroom sketch artist, learning graphic arts and computer animation while there. Her ability to be adaptable and always learning on the job led her from Channel 5 to SAS, and finally landing as a volunteer and philanthropist at NC State, where she’s mentoring and nurturing a new generation of artists.
Newton D'Souza

Jul 30, 2024

Newton D’Souza to lead doctoral programs for the College of Design

Newton D’Souza, PhD will head up a new doctoral programs unit within the College of Design at North Carolina State University, effective August 12, 2024. D’Souza will oversee the two doctoral programs offered by the college, a traditional PhD in Design program and a hybrid Doctor of Design degree.