Weekend Workshops

The Design Lab offers Weekend Workshops for high school students at our Design Lab studio here at the College of Design. Our workshops are brief, immersive design education experiences, offering a wide range of opportunities for teens interested in design. From skill-building to design thinking to concept-based projects to interdisciplinary design mash-ups and more, our talented instructors guide students in developing knowledge and experience in their focus area. Please continue to visit our website from time to time to learn about new workshops and programs we’re offering.

Fall 2022 // Weekend Workshops

Registration Opens Friday, September 30, 2022 at 8:00am // See the Link Below to Access our Registration System

The Design Lab is excited to offer four discipline-specific, in-person, Weekend Workshops this fall. Each workshop will take place on Saturdays from 9:00am – 4:00pm with a one hour break at noon. See the weekend workshop schedule below. Students can register any time between September 30 and one week in advance of each workshop, and students can register for as many weekend workshops as they are interested in.

Workshops will introduce students to design thinking and the design process through challenge-based activities. Through these workshops, students will have the opportunity to develop a better understanding of our designed world and find answer to these questions: What is design? How do designers think?

Weekend Workshop Schedule // Fall 2022

Saturdays from 9:00am – 4:00pm

Art + Design // Light it Up

Any environment can be changed, and a story can be told, by combining a thorough understanding of color theory and good lighting design. This 2-day Art + Design workshop will take students on an exploration of color theory and lighting design to create abstracted 3D environments using Blender, a 3D computer graphics software tool. Students will delve deeply into color theory and learn about the relationship between warm and cool color palettes, and then testing this new knowledge they will work to design their own 3D digital environment. Students should master the fundamentals of color relationships, lighting design, and basic design concepts along the way.

Please Note: This workshop is held on two consecutive Saturday’s on October 29 AND November 5. Students must be able to attend both sessions.

*This workshop will be held in our Design Lab classroom at the College of Design on NC State University’s campus. Directions, parking, and our classroom location will be shared with registrants within one week of the workshop date.

Suggested Grade Range: Grades 9 – 12
Total Seats: 20
Cost: $85

Instructor // Gabrielle Edwards

Hello! My name is Gabrielle and I’m a recent graduate of the Masters of Art and Design Program at NC State University. I studied environmental lighting and color theory, gained a deeper foundation in drawing and design, and experimented with VR and AR while attending NC State. Recently, I have begun pursuing my dream of becoming a full time professional artist in painting and I am very excited to work with students again. In my spare time, I love visiting art museums, nature walks, and playing with my dog Ella. I am very excited to work with arriving creatives to help them reach their full potential and develop their self-confidence in their art and design abilities.

Graphic & Experience Design Workshop // POW! Comic-Style Illustration, Typography, and Storytelling

Have you ever been curious about how comics create such a vivid and immersive experience for their readers? In this graphic design workshop, we will explore how illustration, typography, and other stylized comic elements have captivated readers’ imaginations for decades. In this workshop, students will get hands-on practice with storyboarding, using type and color to highlight emotions, and then build a scene in a narrative format. In the end, students will create their own comic utilizing all of the explored elements discussed during the workshop.

Suggested Grade Range: Grades 6 – 8
Total Seats: 15
Cost: $70

Instructor // Jillian Swaim

Hi! My name is Jillian. I’m a master’s of graphic and experience design student in the College of Design here at NC State. Originally from Maryland, I received my BFA with a concentration in graphic design from Salisbury University on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I do research in virtual reality as well as work in the Virtual Reality Studio at the D.H. Hill Library. My research explores the intersection of art, design, and STEM and how to create an immersive storytelling experience and a way to teach STEM in a multimodal, creative way. My other artistic interests include illustration, painting, and drawing.

Architecture // Form, Space & Order

Have you ever wondered how designs are evolved? How would you imagine your future habitat to be? Do spaces affect a human being psychologically? What are the various factors that are to be considered?

In this workshop, students will experience a creative approach to designing a habitat by exploring various principles of Design. Students will investigate anthropometric evidences and design their habitat. Students will also explore design thinking three dimensionally with proper supervision and safety protocols. With readily available materials and tailor made tools, students will be able to sculpt their designs from paper to three dimensional model with confidence.

Suggested Grade Range: Grades 9 – 12
Total Seats: 20
Cost: $80

Instructor // Raja Manikam Bandari

Vanakkam! This is Raja Manikam Bandari. Having origins in India, I have experience in Design and Photography. I completed my bachelor of Architecture and currently, I am a Graduate student of Architecture at NC State University. My research focuses on sustainability, city design, and urban morphology of the city. I like to help students realize the various layers of design interwoven in our day-to-day lives with a hint of fun!

Industrial Design Workshop // Outside the Box

This workshop was created to engage students in the experience of packaging redesign. The goal is for participants to learn about physical product design, user experience, and visual brand language. As industrial designers, we not only design physical products, we also design product packaging, which is the user’s first experience and impression of a product. Packaging should visually communicate the product, the brand, and improve a user’s experience.

For this workshop, students will work in teams, with each team being assigned an existing packaging (think: food, electronics, houseware, etc.) and an unrelated brand to research (think: Apple, Nike, Tesla, Ikea, etc). One constraint here is that the brand will not match the assigned packaging, which will force our teams to think OUTSIDE THE BOX about how to tie branding language to a product’s packaging design.

Through research, collaboration, and sketching, students will work to consider and design packaging that improves a user’s experience and enjoyment of the product. Students will end the workshop with a series of sketches and paper prototypes which will help them communicate their packaging design proposal.

Suggested Grade Range: Grades 9 – 12
Total Seats: 20
Cost: $75

Instructor // Marissa Yankello

Hello! My name is Marissa Yankello. I am a graduate student at NC State University studying Industrial Design. My undergraduate degree and work experience is in Interior Architecture. I design products with a user-centered focus, but I also consider the space and environment in which it will be used. It is also important to me that products and spaces are inclusive and accessible for people of all abilities.

Prior to Registering, Please Read the Following:

Registration Process and Policies

Registration will open on Friday, September 30, at 8:00am.
The registration fee for each online workshop ranges from $70 – $85. Payment is due upon registration. Students may register for multiple weekend workshops at a time. All forms and payment must be completed in order for registration to be finalized.
Registration will remain open for each workshop up until 6 calendar days prior to its date (ie. registration will close for a workshop on the Sunday prior to when it’s being held).
Those who have completed registration and payment will receive a confirmation email immediately. And all registrants will receive an email at least 5 business days prior to the start of their workshop with further information on procedures and protocols.
Each workshop will take place on Saturdays from 9:00am – 4:00pm with a one hour break at noon. Lunch will be provided for all workshops; our staff and instructor will accompany students to Clark Dining Hall, near our location on campus.
Students should arrive between 8:45am – 8:55am and students must leave or be picked up no later than 4:15pm. Drop-off, Pick-up, and Parking information will be shared after registration is complete.
Cancellations for In-Person Weekend Workshops: We must receive request for cancellation in writing via email to designlab_k12@ncsu.edu. Cancellations made 10 calendar days prior to a workshop are eligible for a full refund. Cancellations made 5 calendar days prior to a workshop are eligible for a 50% refund. If a student is unable to attend a workshop due to a positive COVID-19 test result, or another illness, registrants can request a full refund OR request to have their program fees donated to our Design Lab outreach funds. If the workshop is cancelled by the Design Lab, full refunds will be issued. Refunds can only be issued by the same means of the original payment.

If you have any questions, please email designlab_k12@ncsu.edu.

COVID-19 Procedures & Protocols for In-Person Workshops

UPDATE (as of Spring 2022): To participate in an ‘In-Person Weekend Workshop,’ NC State University is no longer requiring registrant’s parents/guardians to complete the online attestation form to attest that their child has either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or has completed a COVID-19 surveillance test within 72 hours of the workshop and received a negative test result from a PCR test.

In accordance with NC State University’s Protect the Pack protocols and procedures, beginning March 7 face coverings will be optional in most campus indoor locations, including classrooms and other instructional settings. Face coverings will only be mandatory where required by state or federal law or regulations, including the following locations: clinical and health care settings; identified research laboratories (this does not include teaching labs); public transportation, including Wolfline buses.

Although face coverings will no longer be required in most campus spaces, all university community members are encouraged to continue wearing them indoors, especially in instructional settings. Our instructors and staff will continue to wear face coverings during Weekend Workshops.

For more information, please review the Community Standards that are in place to help keep our NC State community safe from the spread of COVID-19. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we protect the pack.

If you have any questions, please email designlab_k12@ncsu.edu.