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.

Spring 2022 // Weekend Workshops

Registration Opens February 7 at 8:00am // See the Link Below to Access our Registration System

The Design Lab is excited to offer five discipline-specific, in-person, Weekend Workshops this spring. 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 February 7 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 // Spring 2022

Saturdays from 9:00am – 4:00pm

Industrial Design Workshop // Assembly Required: Flat-Pack Furniture

If you’ve been to Ikea, then you’re familiar with flat-pack furniture. Essentially, it is furniture that is sold in parts and pieces and ready to assemble by the consumer. This saves the manufacturer time, labor and shipping costs because the furniture is packaged in an efficient and affordable way.

For this studio, we will focus on flat-pack furniture design by designing a bench, shelf, or table. You will practice sketching and turning your 2D sketch ideas into working 3D model prototypes.

Your furniture must be able to be taken apart and be put back together, so we will not be using adhesives. We will explore ways of joinery and focus on how to design furniture with the materials at hand. At the end of the studio we will share the sketches and models over Miro and give one another constructive feedback.

Through research, collaboration, sketching and prototyping, students will understand how to transform their ideas from paper into a working prototype.

*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 Age Range: Grade 9 – 12; Age 14 – 18
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.

Art + Design Workshop // Paper to Pixels

Paper to Pixels is an extended traditional animation workshop that will allow the students to experience every aspect of the animation pipeline while learning and growing together as a community. Each student will learn to design an enticing character within their sketchbooks, create a workable storyboard using Photoshop, and leave the workshop with a short film and with the animation experience in OpenToonz they’ll need to continue their growth as an animator at their own pace. The two-day format of this workshop will allow the students the time to really think about their story and commit to the characters they wish to bring to life through the animation process. The class will end with a mini film festival, where friends and family will be invited to join us for the first screenings and reviews of the students’ short films!

Feel free to bring your own sketchbook, bullet journal, or other method of sketching and taking notes, as well as your own colored pens and pencils if you would like. Design Lab will also provide paper and pencils/pens.

Please Note: This workshop is held on two consecutive Saturday’s on March 12 AND March 19. Students must be able to attend both sessions.

*This workshop will be held in and around 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 Age Range: Grade 9 – 12; Age 14 – 18
Total Seats: 15
Cost: $85

Instructor // Izzy Daniels

Hi there! My name is Izzy, and I am currently a graduate student at NCSU, studying art and design! I focus on traditional animation and illustration, but my true passion lies within the craftier arts – stop motion, soft sculpture, puppet creation, etc. In my spare time, you can find me playing board games with my husband, Mitchell, who is also a student in the MAD department. I also am a cat-mom to my adorable fur-baby, Stella, and I love punk music!

Landscape Architecture // Astronomy vs. Astrology: Using Design to Tell a Story

What is the story behind your sun sign? Are you a mysterious Scorpio? A Sagittarius with a thirst for knowledge? Or an Aquarius always looking out for others? The validity of the science behind astrology is debatable, but cultures have a long history of attaching stories, characters, and qualities to the stars and the constellations that they form. We often reflect on how our signs show up in ourselves but how can we make our signs show up in the landscape around us? And what can we learn from the stories behind the stars? This workshop will focus on redesigning a courtyard on NC State campus to tell a story inspired by the constellations, the zodiac and Greek mythology. The purpose of the activity will be to learn how to look critically at a narrative, extract themes and apply them figuratively in a physical landscape.

Suggested Age Range: Grade 9 – 12; Age 14 – 18
Total Seats: 20
Cost: $75

Instructor // Claire Henkel

I was born and raised in Kentucky but have since lived in Minnesota, Argentina, Guatemala, and Colorado. Currently, I’m getting my Masters in Landscape Architecture from North Carolina State University. Before starting this program, I helped start a community garden, taught environmental education, and worked in mental health. I also played a lot of soccer. I enjoy meeting new people, learning new skills and spending as much time outside as possible. All of these experiences and interests fuel how I approach design!

Graphic Design & Design Studies // Design as an Adaptable Process

Do you feel like you have to choose one career and stick to that career forever? Does pursuing a career in art or design scare you because you feel like there are limited options? Well, fun fact, design is a part of every aspect of life and every career, whether you realize it or not! Through hands-on design research, you will have the opportunity to apply design principles and the design process to a variety of your own personal interests and passions and see how an art or design career can be the perfect match for you and allow you to be successful in any field!

Through guided design research methods, such as mind mapping, rapid ideation, and sketching, students will learn how to visualize their thoughts and apply them to paper. Students will learn how to visually communicate the design connections they make between their design-related field and a second career choice. Using a variety of Graphic Design skills that will be taught, such as Gestalt Principles and typography basics, as well as basic skills learned in Adobe Photoshop, students will create a final deliverable in the form of an informational design poster.

This workshop is great for students who are interested in and curious about Design and students who want to learn more about how Design can ignite their passions!

Suggested Age Range: Grade 9 – 12; Age 14 – 18
Total Seats: 20
Cost: $75

Instructor // Miranda Green

Miranda is a current senior in NCSU’s Design Studies program and has also completed her minor in History. Working for both the Design Lab and the Gregg Museum of Art and Design, Miranda is thoroughly integrated with both the College of Design and the University as a whole. With interests aligned to bringing Design and Design application to the forefront of the everyday career, Miranda is excited to help students tie Design into their everyday lives and into any career opportunities they are passionate about!

Architecture // Space Habitat: Utopia or Dystopia?

How would designing in a context free space address existing economic and social problems? Would solutions be discovered? Or would it create new obstacles?

In this exploratory workshop, students will practice the imaginative process of designing a place where space is limitless. Students will learn how to design and construct a domestic habitat, through exploration informed by futuristic utopian architecture, and anthropometric (portion and scale based on the human body) investigations. Students will practice model construction, basing scaled designs on an anthropometric scale. With an added focus on proper technique and safety, students will be surprised how quickly their skills develop using readily-available materials and simple tools.

Suggested Age Range: Grade 9 – 12; Age 14 – 18
Total Seats: 20
Cost: $75

Instructor // Ezgi Balkanay

Ezgi Balkanay is an architect and a Ph.D. in Design Candidate. She has worked as an architectural designer for three years and taught more than fifteen semester-long design studios (Basic Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design Studios). Ezgi’s research and teaching interests are modernity and post-colonial theories, design methodology, and representation in/of architecture. She took responsibilities or served as a founding member of various collectives/ task forces tackling the issues of race, gender, and segregation.

Prior to Registering, Please Read the Following:

Registration Process and Policies

Registration will open on Monday, February 7.
The registration fee for each online workshop ranges from $75 – $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 workshops on March 5, April 2, April 9, and April 23; our staff and instructor will accompany students to Clark Dining Hall, near our location on campus. University dining halls are closed on March 12 and March 19 for Spring Break. Students will need to bring a bagged lunch for the March 12 and March 19 workshop.
Students should arrive between 8:30am – 8:50am 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 2/28/2022): 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.