Graphic Design

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…

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.

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

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 9, 2025

Congratulations, Spring 2025 Graduates!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

Sep 10, 2024

Sight Unseen, Students Design UX for Intelligence Analysts

A Fictitious Terrorist Attack “In 2019 a bombing killed two people and injured others in the city of Macondo, a mountain town in Oceania. A commercially made drone fitted with…

Jul 26, 2024

Audrey Lankford Barnes joins College of Design as Department Head of Graphic Design and Industrial Design

The College of Design at North Carolina State University is pleased to announce the appointment of Audrey Lankford Barnes as the new Department Head of Graphic Design and Industrial Design, effective August 1, 2024. Barnes joins us from James Madison University (JMU), where she served as an Associate Professor and Area Head of Industrial Design in the School of Art, Design and Art History.

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

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.

Apr 2, 2024

NC State Alum Bridges Cultures through Graphic Design

Harnessing her creativity in design and typography, Blair Richardson, a graduate of the graphic design program at NC State, has connected cultures worldwide throughout her successful career. She has lent her design and typography skills to countless clients and projects, from cookbooks to museum exhibitions.

Mar 8, 2024

Two Graphic Design Students Featured in GDUSA’s Students to Watch

Graphic Design students Erin Secosky and Bhavana Veeravalli were recently featured as part of GDUSA’s 2024 “Students to Watch” list.

Mar 5, 2024

Matthew Peterson named University Faculty Scholar

Matthew Peterson is an associate professor of graphic & experience design and one of 22 educators institution-wide chosen as part of the 2023-2024 NC State University Faculty Scholars cohort. The program, begun in 2012 by Chancellor Randy Woodson, recognizes and rewards emerging academic leaders who demonstrate significant academic achievement. Once selected, faculty carry the title for the duration of their appointment.

Feb 8, 2024

Reshaping Raleigh: Environmental Designer Brings Iconic Spaces to Life

Alumnus Joshua Gajownik '04 thought he wanted to be an aerospace engineer. Now, 20 years on, the College of Design graduate is a successful practicing environmental designer. He touches every single detail of the properties he works on, from the branding to the furniture selections, even down to the in-room art.

Jan 25, 2024

How can A.I. Transform Voice Language Analysis?

Master of Graphic & Experience Design (MGXD) students collaborated with the Laboratory of Analytic Sciences (LAS) here at NC State to explore the potential of machine learning to assist in voice language analysis tasks.

Dec 12, 2023

Breaking the Stereotype: Using AI to Support Diversity in STEM

Ashley Anderson's research looks at why there aren't as many Black students earning degrees in STEM fields, and is looking at how generative AI can be used a tool to foster diversity and belonging.

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.

Jul 6, 2023

Ready for the Turning Point

In the century since the term was coined, graphic design has continued to redefine itself in the face of both technological and cultural changes – whether that’s the birth of the desktop computer in the early nineties or the emergence of artificial intelligence image generators like DALL-E in the early 2020s. As such, graphic design at NC State has also been one of continual redefinition, at the forefront of emerging practices.

May 15, 2023

SAS and the NC State College of Design — A decade of fresh ideas

The College of Design and SAS celebrated a ten-year partnership in April. SAS Director of Product Design Rajiv Ramarajan reflects on the projects created over the years.

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.

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 9, 2023

Ashley Castrejon shares her study abroad experience in Chile with sustainable design

Ashley Castrejon is a graphic & experience design major in the College of Design. She answered a Q&A with study abroad about her experience in Chile studying sustainable design.

Feb 23, 2023

Department Head of Graphic Design and Industrial Design Tsai Lu Liu Has Been Named Dean at Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture, Arts and Design

Tsai Lu Liu, head of the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design at NC State’s College of Design, will be leaving the university after 11 years. He has been named the dean of the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech. In his tenure as department head, Liu has transformed the department through corporate partnerships, student academic life and philanthropy. He has been working with the faculty and college leadership to increase the diversity of both faculty and students in the program.

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.

Nov 7, 2022

Graphic Design Program Changes Name to Reflect Expertise in User Experience Design

After months of preparation, the graphic design program will change its degree names to reflect career opportunities for students. These new degree names emphasize not only the current strong curriculum taught by faculty, but deepen the program's alignment with exciting trends in the profession.

Oct 26, 2022

Almost lost in time: College of Design students preserve local histories and social practices during study abroad project in Greece

Graphic design students, under the guidance of Professor Scott Townsend, traveled to Kefalonia, Greece in spring 2022. Their goal was to create a Living Histories website to house the oral histories collected from native Kefalonians. The histories of Kefalonia are being lost to time,” says Lewis. “Many younger residents are leaving the island, and we hope that our website can record cultural practices and histories to be accessed by future generations.”

Oct 11, 2022

Putting the user first: two alums explore how their heritages shaped their work as UX designers

We took time to sit down with two graduates of the Master’s of Graphic Design program, Laura Rodriguez [MGD ‘11] and Luis Zapata [BID ‘11, MGD ‘17] to ask them about their experiences as students, as well as how their cultural identity has shaped their careers. 

Oct 4, 2022

Uniting Design and Art

The North Carolina Museum of Art’s rebranding efforts encapsulate the museum’s collection through leading efforts by two College of Design alumnae. Christin Hardy and her colleague Allison Maslow are both graduates of the graphic design program at NC State, and their education has been formative in the current rebranding efforts for the NCMA.

Sep 15, 2022

Meet our newest members: College of Design Leaders Council

The College of Design is excited to welcome four new members to its Leaders Council. Members of the Leaders Council support the college’s strategic direction, assist in securing financial resources to achieve its long-range goals and actively advocate for the college’s vision to become the leading public interdisciplinary design college in the country.

Jun 27, 2022

2022 Designlife Magazine

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

Jun 16, 2022

In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers: An Exploration of Change and Loss

Robin Vuchnich, a new media artist, user experience designer, and an assistant professor of practice in the College of Design, leveraged digitized specimens from the Harvard University Herbaria to craft an immersive experience in the gallery theater of the Harvard Museum of Natural Science. In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers: An Exploration of Change and Loss is an immersive multidisciplinary experience that marries art and science through a modern artistic interpretation of Thoreau’s preserved plants.

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 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 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 18, 2022

Sustainability by Design

Students are gaining real-world experience while reducing waste in a new project sponsored by Eastman. The company challenged NC State industrial design seniors in the College of Design to create consumer products with sustainability top of mind. 

Apr 12, 2022

Graduate Student Research Symposium Winners

Nearly 200 NC State graduate students presented their research projects this week at the 15th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, and 27 were recognized as the best presenters in their disciplines.…

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 5, 2021

Q&A: Helen Dear and Designing for Our Children’s Financial Futures

Helen Dear is a 2010 graduate of the College of Design’s Graphic Design program and is currently working in Atlanta as the creative director at Greenlight Financial Technology – a company that helps parents manage their children’s financial goals. Helen has spent the past year guiding the company through a complete brand overhaul. She spoke with us about her roots at the College of Design and discovering a work environment that fits her process.

Nov 3, 2021

Graphic Design Student Creates Winning Label for Shelton Vineyards

Junior graphic design student Carter Avayou designed the winning label for the Hallowed Places collection from local winery Shelton Vineyards. Shelton Vineyards partnered with NC State to create a series of officially licensed North Carolina wines, and a portion of all sales will support student scholarships at NC State.

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 25, 2021

Big Data, Big Design: Why Designers Should Care about A.I.

Professor of Graphic Design Helen Armstrong has a new book about artificial intelligence and machine learning, all through the lens of a designer.

Sep 13, 2021

NC State Creatives: Molly Nunes

Molly Nunes believes that by building an athlete’s brand through design-heavy tools such as apparel, music and art, women in the sports industry can find a new level of prosperity after their active careers.

Sep 9, 2021

Using Design Thinking to Investigate the Potential of Knowledge Graphs

In the midst of the pandemic, The NC State Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS) partnered with our master’s students in the NCSU College of Design’s Graphic Design Department to tackle the potential for a knowledge graph to support the work of intelligence analysts.