Media Arts, Design and Technology

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. 

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.

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.”

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.

Jul 15, 2024

Designing a Path Through Mental Health: Wellness in the First Year Experience

Following several major grants awarded to the College of Design by the NC State University Foundation, the First Year Experience has blossomed into a program that integrates wellness and mental health awareness into an interdisciplinary design curriculum. The College of Design is a very close-knit community, and most of the first year involves practicing intellectual risk-taking through studio-based learning. The wellness-informed curriculum was created because the freshman experience in design bridges the vast threshold or transition between high school and college where students are expected to routinely fail and subsequently grow through trial and error.

Jun 5, 2024

MADTech Department Head Derek Ham accepts new position as director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center

MADTech Department Head Derek Ham, PhD, has accepted a new position as director of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)'s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) in Pittsburgh, PA, effective September 1.

Jun 5, 2024

Student Art Sale Soars to New Heights; Largest Sale To Date

The 2024 Student Art Sale featured work from over 75 artists across 11 colleges at NC State, granting student artists of all disciplines an opportunity to be represented and share their art. The 2024 Visual Artist Winners are Sean Evans, a second year majoring in graphic and experience design, with the piece “Platinum” for the 2D category, Erin Emott, a graduate student in plant biology, with the piece “Skelly” for the 3D category and Jack E. McKissock, a first year in media arts and technology, with the piece “Sahbabii” for the digital category.

Apr 30, 2024

Be Transported to the Wild and Wacky Dimensions of Art2Wear 2024

On a balmy spring evening, in a packed house at Stewart Theater, students from the College of Design and across the university paraded their collections as part of Art2Wear 2024, pulling the audience into another dimension.  With each collection, designers led us into their own worlds, from the depths of the ocean to wind-swept dunes, even traveling into outer space. The eight designers who showcased collections of four or more looks came from disciplines across the college, and their fields of study influenced their final looks.

Jan 25, 2024

Alumna Dare Coulter wins 2024 Coretta Scott King Book Award

Alumna Dare Coulter [Art + Design '15], illustrator of “An American Story,” is one of two winners of the 2024 Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoring African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults.

Jan 10, 2024

Q&A: Lesley-Ann Noel on Her New Book, “Design Social Change”

Assistant Professor Lesley-Ann Noel's recently-published book, titled "Design Social Change" was written as a guide for topics, mindsets and principles that designers can use to drive the way they think about change. We talked with Dr. Noel about the book's mission and inspiration.

Oct 13, 2023

Exploring Connection through Paper Form

This year's First Year Experience Paper project was all about connection - the connections we make with others, with our surroundings, and with ourselves. First-year students in the College of Design were tasked with creating a wearable or inhabitable structure that examines how we related to one another. Pieces created by the students were meant to raise awareness of interpersonal relationships in new and nuance ways, and were primarily constructed using paper or fiber with minimal fasteners, adhesives or support.

Jun 30, 2023

A Continuing Legacy: Susan Toplikar Fund Connects Students to Professionals

Through a fund named after one of the College of Design's most missed instructors, students are gaining the opportunity to build new meaningful relationships with professionals across the Triangle.

May 25, 2023

Art2Wear: A Tradition of Showcasing Wearable Art

Art2Wear — one of the largest student-run productions of its kind in the Southeast — has become a highly anticipated annual wearable art showcase. But the first one was a small, grassroots production.  It started in a fibers and surface design studio in 2002, where Vita Plume — then an assistant professor of art + design, who retired as an associate professor in 2012 — taught textile techniques such as weaving, knitting and dyeing cloth.

May 10, 2023

College of Design Faculty win NC State Awards in Teaching and Research

Six College of Design faculty were recognized with awards from the Alumni Association, Graduate School, Libraries and Office of the Provost this spring.

May 4, 2023

Art2Wear Celebrates Motion, Life and Change

Art2Wear 2023 had a mission to inspire students to create wearable art as part of a greater narrative that includes art, fashion, digital production, world-building and storytelling.

Apr 26, 2023

Celebrating Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala

The College of Design celebrated Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala on April 21-22, 2023. The college was delighted to see so many friendly faces back on campus, touring our studios, and connecting with former classmates and colleagues at the reunions by the decade. The weekend's events culminated with the Designlife Gala at the JC Raulston Arboretum on Saturday night.

Mar 31, 2023

In 2023, Art2Wear is Kinetic – and you’re invited.

Tickets for the 2023 Art2Wear show are now on sale! This year's production will move away from a traditional runway format and widen its lens to include a wider retinue of choreography, set design, entertainment and environmental styling.

Feb 3, 2023

Joy and Pain

Artist Dare Coulter ’15 depicts both in a new picture book about the trauma of slavery.

Jan 25, 2023

Media Arts, Design and Technology Department Embraces Name Change to Highlight the Future of Design

The Art + Design Department in the NC State College of Design will now be known by a new name, the Department of Media Arts, Design and Technology, affectionately known as MADTech. “This name change reflects a shift in the future of our department towards the emerging trends in digital media production" says Department Head Derek Ham. "It aligns with our academic content, our faculty expertise, and focuses on the areas of the profession that use emerging technology for creative use.”

Jan 18, 2023

75 Years of Leading by Design: College of Design Celebrates a Momentous Milestone

The College of Design celebrates its 75th anniversary throughout 2023 with a series of lectures, events, alumni weekends, and more.

Jan 9, 2023

A Digital Heritage: Interdisciplinary Project Aims to Bring Colombian Church to Life

By combining the fields of archaeology and 3D design, Assistant Professor of Archaeology Julie K. Wesp and Assistant Professor of Media Arts, Design and Technology, Justin Johnson are working together to bring a centuries-old church back to life.

Oct 14, 2022

Latinx Voices of Design: Clarissa Gernat

Clarissa Gernat is in her first year as a graduate student in the college's Art+Design program. She shared her experiences growing up with her family in Honduras, how her heritage ties into her creativity and her experiences at the College of Design.

Sep 26, 2022

Students showcase work in ASIFA-Hollywood Educators Forum

In spring 2022 the Department of Art+Design launched a Senior Capstone Animation Studio. In the studio, students worked individually and in groups on a year-long project to complete an animated film. The films ranged in form from hybrid 3D animation to traditional 2D animation and in length from 4 to 7 minutes. The films were screened as part of the ASIFA Hollywood-sponsored 2022 Student Animation Showcase with other animation programs from around the country.

Sep 6, 2022

Designing for Dance

“Designing for dance is the ultimate act of design,” says Professor of Art + Design J. Mark Scearce, Ph.D. For the ballet’s 25th anniversary, four of Scearce’s ballets will be produced, giving design students a rare front row seat in the art of meeting client expectations.

Jun 27, 2022

2022 Designlife Magazine

Read about the people and activities featured in the 2022 issue of Designlife Magazine.

Jun 20, 2022

History and Augmented Reality Meet to Uplift a Black Icon from North Carolina

Students and faculty are bringing new life and awareness to icons like Negro League Baseball player Buck Leonard, using AR to enhance typical displays into interactive, mini-museums. Working with a grant from the NC State Foundation focused on “Mixed Reality for Social Impact,” Derek Ham, department head of Art + Design at NC State’s College of Design, is helping to tell the stories of underrepresented communities in the medium he knows best – Augmented Reality (AR).

May 18, 2022

Celebrating Another Successful Day of Giving

The College of Design celebrated another successful Day of Giving on March 23, 2022 thanks to the generous gifts of donors, alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends, all of whom believe in the importance of design education. Thanks to your support, the college was able to raise $474,885 from 373 gifts, exceeding last year’s 309 gifts by 21%.

May 12, 2022

Art + Design’s Derek Ham to be Featured at Cannes

Department Head of Art + Design, Derek Ham, will have his most recent completed VR title, “Barnstormers: Determined to Win” shown in one of the world’s most well-known and prestigious film festivals - the 2022 Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes. 

May 5, 2022

Congratulations, Class of 2022!

We asked our spring graduates for some thoughts on their time in the College of Design. Below, hear from them in their own words.

Apr 15, 2022

Art2Wear Takes the Stage in 2022

On April 27 in Talley Student Union’s Stewart Theatre, spotlights will once again shine on the runway following Art2Wear’s two-year hiatus from its widely anticipated in-person fashion show. The annual event is organized and hosted by the College of Design’s Art + Design department, and usually attracts about 1,000 attendees including NC State students, greater Raleigh community members and industry partners.

Mar 22, 2022

Alumni and students create experimental immersive light experience at Crabtree

To help celebrate 50 years of community engagement, Crabtree partnered with award-winning team, Mike Cuales [MID ‘00] and Robin Vuchnich [MGD ‘14], to create an experimental immersive light experience for guests while supporting local artists, including students from NC State’s College of Design. The works were created using different techniques and technologies from virtual reality painting, procedurally generated art, artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision and neural networks.

Feb 22, 2022

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: World Risks and Design Philosophy

When professor Mark Beasley wanted to present a more innovative approach to risk management, he enlisted the help of JMark Scearce, professor of art and design in the College of Design. Scearce, a professional composer and a former chair of NC State’s Department of Music, teaches design thinking to his students, and he applied that perspective to risk management in his summit presentation.

Jan 7, 2022

From A-to-Z: Lesley-Ann Noel and Decolonizing Design

Assistant Professor of Art + Design Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel aims to bring underrepresented voices into everyday design education through social innovation, inclusive community-led research and public health solutions. By creating tools such as the Designer’s Critical Alphabet and the “Who Am I” Positionality Wheel, she is making conversations around race and bias more common in classrooms and workplaces.

Dec 15, 2021

First Year Experience Paper Project is featured in Walter Magazine

NC State first-year design students study form, function, and movement through inventive garments made of paper. Republished from Walter Magazine

Nov 19, 2021

NC State Creatives: Meghan Tankersley

Meghan Tankersley's fascination with the natural world and how it can be pushed further began at an early age. Now, as a senior in Art + Design, she sees the world of gaming as a powerful space to explore fantastic worlds, interact with mythical creatures and share unique experiences.

Nov 11, 2021

Nothing is Perfect: Meditation, Virtual Reality and Juvenile Justice

Most students detained at San Francisco's Juvenile Hall have faced extreme hardships beginning at a very young age. So how can we aid the healing process through design? In Derek Ham's ADN 560 studio, students were tasked with developing virtual worlds tailored to the specific needs and issues faced by incarcerated youth.

Oct 26, 2021

Two Students Bring Home AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships

First year Art + Design student Olivia Santangelo and Art + Design sophomore Ajane "AJ" Lawrence each won awards for their bodies of work in the fields of graphic design and illustration, respectively.

Oct 1, 2021

Always the Gold Sandal

My mom, Dana, built tool sets at a tool factory; on the weekends she became a sexy Donna Karan power woman. My Grandma Hattie was a factory knitter, but she moonlighted as a feline Patrick Kelly–esque dame, particularly on Sundays. Read the full story by Charles Harbison for The Atlantic.

Sep 20, 2021

Adrienne McKenzie’s finalist entry shown in London

Adrienne McKenzie was in the finalist round for the Hand & Lock exhibition of Fiberart International 2022. Presented by the Fiberarts Guild and recognized around the world as a benchmark documenting trends and innovations in the field, the goal of the exhibition is to include work rooted in traditional fiber materials, structure, processes and history, as well as art that explores unexpected relationships between fiber and other disciplines. Adrienne’s work will be displayed in the Bargehouse Oxo Tower in London. 

Sep 2, 2021

Exploring Nature as a Resource in Virtual Reality

GGRAPH 2021 Groovy Graphics Assignment, “Photogrammetry for a Virtual Reality Nature Scene.” As part of their on-demand talk, the two discussed capturing nature using photogrammetry and building a virtual reality nature scene.

Jul 15, 2021

Angela Medlin: Doing the Long Math

Until she was in a position to hire talent while working for brands like Levi Strauss & Co, The North Face, Eddie Bauer, Nike and Adidas, Angela could not help but notice that she was the only Black designer in the room. After 30 years in the industry she made a life-changing decision – she was going to design for herself again.

Jun 16, 2021

Entertainment with Impact: Derek Ham Brings Art + Design’s Direction into Focus

It’s no secret that the Art + Design program is a leading force in training the next generation for careers in animation, game design and virtual reality.  However, according to Department Head Derek Ham, the world of academia has developed a stigma around one of the program’s most lucrative opportunities: the entertainment industry. In his…

Feb 15, 2021

Design Identities: Charles Harbison

“I walked into this university thinking I would be an architect, and then I got in my first semester and fell in love with fabric manipulation,” says Charles Harbison, Art + Design graduate and founder and creative director of HARBISON. From there, he fell in love with fiber arts, tapestry, weaving, and textiles from around the world, and decided to switch to Art + Design and Textiles with the intent of pursuing fashion design in New York.

Dec 22, 2020

Masters of Art + Design Program Recognized for Excellence in Assessment

The Masters of Art + Design program has been recognized by the NC State Graduate School as a 2019-2020 Excellence in Assessment Honoree.

Dec 3, 2020

Congratulations, Graduates!

For our 2020 graduates, this year's commencement ceremony was like no other. It began with a video of Dean Hoversten searching the campus for our students. Then, the department heads shared words of encouragement with the students, commending them for their outstanding work this year.

Oct 14, 2020

Remembering Susan Toplikar

Susan taught, trained, and mentored rising artists, designers, and architects for over 30 years at the College of Design at NC State University. In addition to teaching, Susan maintained a rigorous studio presence. She was very prolific, creating works in the studio when she wasn’t in the classroom, and completed an astonishing body of work.

Sep 13, 2020

NC State Creatives: Sara Fisher

To Sara, the gaming world is more than just a space for entertainment - it's a space for empathy and connection. Using VR and motion-sensing software, Sara's work aims to bring feelings of curiosity, exploration and compassion to interactive design.

Aug 14, 2020

Chandra Cox Contributes Illustrations to ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy’

Chandra Cox's illustration appears in Tony Medina’s book, 13 Ways of Looking at a Black Boy, in which Medina’s poems are illustrated by depicting thirteen views of everyday life: young boys dressed in their Sunday best, running to catch a bus, growing up to be teachers, and much more.

Aug 12, 2020

DDes Student Researching How to Design VR That Heals

Justin Johnson is researching how VR can be used to treat PTSD and promote cognitive restoration.

Jul 28, 2020

Susan Toplikar, Former Art + Design Faculty, Dies

Susan Margaret Toplikar, passionate teacher, gifted artist, and dedicated community-arts activist, passed away July 20, 2020, from complications associated with Parkinson's disease.