designlife magazine

May 20, 2023

The Class That Started It All

The students who graduated from the School of Design in the spring of 1953 were the first to complete the new school’s five-year course load. Their commitment set the pace for everything that came after. 

Jun 14, 2022

3D-Printed Ceramics Encompass Art, Technology and Tradition

The College of Design is buzzing with innovation as students and teachers alike discover new ways to mix creativity with technology. For one faculty member, that means taking clay craft to a new level by 3D printing ceramics. 

Jun 2, 2022

Jennifer Peavey Plans to Back the Pack Forever

Through a special legacy gift, this NC State alumna hopes to provide professors in the College of Design with the resources to think and do ad infinitum. 

Jun 2, 2022

Brian Leonard Believes in Design That Improves Lives

Industrial designer Brian Leonard often finds himself in debates about form versus function. But rather than focusing on how something looks, he’s more concerned with how design can benefit people now and in the future. 

May 31, 2022

Mark Templeton Wants You to Think Outside the Box

College of Design alumnus Mark Templeton, NC State’s fall 2021 commencement speaker, crowned a storied career several years ago by retiring as CEO of Citrix, a multibillion-dollar software company. 

May 31, 2022

It All Adds Up: Alumnus Doug Bennett Reflects on a Lifetime of Giving

Doug Bennett attended the College of Design during an “explosive period” in our nation’s history, starting in 1965 and graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1970. Throughout his time in the school, he was able to serve as the business manager on the Student Publication, and that was his first foray into philanthropy.  After graduating, he served in the U.S. Navy, and started a lifetime of giving. Bennett likened his continuous giving to a habit. He started giving, initially, modest donations to the College of Design and kept up with annual donations ever since.  

May 31, 2022

Honoring Faculty: Pat Rand Initiates Roger Clark Architecture Speaker Support Endowment

In honor of the outstanding and enduring teaching of Roger Clark, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Architecture Pat Rand has created the Roger Clark Architecture Speaker Support Endowment. This annual lecture will allow the School of Architecture to bring leading professionals and architectural educators to campus to present architectural topics relevant to students’ future careers. 

May 20, 2022

When Graphic Design Meets Big Tech: Red Hat Sponsored Studio Tackles Autonomous Vehicles

Graphic design students recently partnered with Red Hat to create solutions for a world dominated by autonomous vehicles. Students then had to design for a variety of human factors such as family needs, career specializations and security concerns. 

May 10, 2022

Celebrating the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign

Thanks to the generous support of our donors who contributed to the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign, we have been able to make tremendous strides in the last five years.  Because of you, we can look ahead to our future. We’re able to consider the next 75 years of design education and shape another seven decades of designers.  

May 4, 2022

A New Way To Measure: Bringing Drone Technology to Landscape Architecture

With the help of NC State’s Institute for Transportation, Research and Education (ITRE), Emily McCoy, associate professor of practice in landscape architecture and environmental planning, has been flying drones across campus for the past five years. But she’s capturing more than the beauty of the landscape. McCoy and the students in her landscape performance class have been using tools such as drones with thermal cameras to evaluate how different landscapes across campus perform from a sustainability standpoint. 

May 4, 2022

Designlife Magazine: Drones, Automated Vehicles, 3D Ceramics and More

The spring 2022 issue of Designlife magazine is here! Our feature story celebrates the end of the Think and Do the Extraordinary campaign, and most notably, the many faces that not only made it our most successful campaign to date, but shaped the college and its direction, laying the groundwork for years to come. 

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. 

Sep 9, 2021

College of Design Secures First Distinguished Professorship with Support from the Goodnights

The College of Design has named Wayne Place as its inaugural Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Architecture. The professorship was made possible by a gift from longtime NC State supporters Dr. Jim and Mrs. Ann Goodnight. 

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. 

Jul 12, 2021

DDes Student Designs Learning Assessments for Deaf Children

When user experience designer AJ Polanco decided to advance his career by earning a doctoral degree, his search for the perfect opportunity led him to become part of the first cohort of eight students to enroll in the College of Design’s brand-new Doctor of Design program in 2018. 

Jun 21, 2021

Can You Teach Design From a Box? Design Lab Thinks So.

The Design Lab plans to offer two Digital Design Camps this summer. One week of Design Foundations for middle school students and one week of Design Explorations for high school students. This program will be an intensive, pre-college experience that introduces students to the fundamentals of design and the process of creating portfolio quality projects in a virtual studio environment. 

Jun 17, 2021

Navigating an Unfamiliar Landscape

College of Design faculty faced uncharted terrain - and persevered - when COVID-19 forced them to convert their landscape architecture studio to a hybrid model. A change of scenery was in order when Gene Bressler and Carla Delcambre embarked on their fifth year of teaching an introductory graduate landscape architecture design studio. 

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… 

May 4, 2021

Early Champions for the New Design Center at 111 Lampe Drive

As renovations for the Design Center at 111 Lampe Drive continue to progress, students are preparing to utilize the blank spaces for fall 2021. A key aspect of this renovation is creating collaborative studio spaces that can support the numerous studio partnerships. One of those companies, Eastman, pledged a major gift to become the first partner to name a space in the new facility. 

Jul 28, 2020

Continuities and Transformations: Evolving a Home Over Four Decades

Paul Tesar has been designing his home over the past 40 years. Since 1979 he has been collaborating with former students from the College of Design to shape the gradual evolution of his house to “home.” He embraces building as a process, rather than a product, interwoven with the lives of its inhabitants, its place and those who built it, and his home is a true reflection of that.