For decades, design education has largely followed a familiar structure: disciplines separated, projects contained, collaboration encouraged but not always embedded.

Taking place amongst desks covered in prototypes and sketches in Lampe Hall, a new studio is challenging that model. In the studio, named Envisioning Future Experiences, students from industrial design (ID) and graphic & experience design (GXD) are brought together to work as unified, holistic design teams.

Envisioning Future Experiences is the college’s first joint studio of its kind, developed in partnership with Lenovo. The studio asks a fundamental question: what happens when hardware and software designers learn to think and build together from the start?

According to Lenovo’s design leadership, that question reflects a broader shift already underway in the field. “The role of the designer is changing,” said Brian Leonard, Lenovo’s vice president of design. “Traditionally designers would be focused only on hardware design, software design or user experience. Now, collaboration between those disciplines is creating the experiences of the future, especially in the era of AI.”
That future is rooted in experience. Not just how something looks or feels, but how it functions across physical and digital touchpoints. For students, that meant moving beyond familiar workflows and into a more integrated and at times unpredictable process.

“It was the first time for us doing this in the same timeline,” said Assistant Professor of Industrial Design, Byungsoo Kim. “We were also figuring things out as we were moving toward different phases, and kind of making a roadmap as we were going.”

That uncertainty was by design. Rather than prescribing solutions, the studio emphasized open-ended problem-solving. Students were asked to identify opportunities in the growing space between physical products and digital systems, or “phygital” experiences, and then develop concepts that addressed both simultaneously.
“It wasn’t about what we thought should exist,” said Katie Gray Jackson, Lenovo’s design chief of staff. “We wanted the the students to find a user’s problem then work collaboratively to find solutions organically. And that’s really what they’ve achieved.”

The process was supported by an unusually high level of industry engagement. Hardware, software and UX designers from Lenovo regularly joined critiques, offering feedback from multiple perspectives. For faculty and students alike, that access created a more immersive learning environment.

“Anytime design experts come to our studio, they bring a whole new level of energy and motivation with them,” said David Oh, an assistant professor of graphic & experience design. “It was apparent that students really appreciated the time and effort from Lenovo’s leadership.”

For students, the impact was immediate and, at times, challenging. Working across disciplines meant navigating different design languages, priorities and processes.

“I think at first it was a bit of a challenge, just because the GXD and ID processes are very different,” said Danielle Varner, a senior in graphic & experience design. “But it was really helpful to think about a broader design perspective rather than working in silos.”
That shift in perspective often led to stronger outcomes. Projects evolved through continuous dialogue between hardware and software considerations, resulting in more cohesive and realistic solutions.

“Our product would not have been anywhere near as effective without graphic design being involved in the process,” said Sarita Schneider, a senior in industrial design. “And I feel like they would say the same.”

Faculty observed the same trend. In post-studio feedback, students reported that their final projects were significantly improved compared to work developed within a single discipline. “The overall sentiment was that better interaction leads to better outcomes,” Kim noted.

What made the studio particularly notable, however, was not just the quality of the work but the nature of the collaboration itself. While cross-disciplinary teamwork is often discussed in professional settings, it remains difficult to implement even at the industry level, let alone the educational level.

“I hear often that it’s really challenging for even professionals to work with hardware and software together,” Kim said. “Some companies try, and it doesn’t work.”

In that context, the studio offered something rare: a space where emerging designers could experiment with collaboration before entering the workforce. Without the constraints of established roles or rigid processes, students were able to adapt more fluidly, learning how to design together.

“Students felt more comfortable working together,” Oh said. “I thought it would be harder, but it was probably much easier than professionals coming from different disciplines.”

For Lenovo, the experience was equally valuable. “It’s not just about what the students learn from us, we learn a lot from them as well,” Leonard said. “Seeing the students work so well together reinforced the importance of collaborative design. Design is a team sport!”

As the College of Design continues to evaluate and refine the studio, one thing is clear: this model represents more than a one-time experiment. It points toward a broader evolution in design education that mirrors the realities of contemporary practice.
“I had to learn really quickly how to be a bit of a translator,” Jackson said, reflecting on her own experience entering a multidisciplinary design team. “You have to understand different design perspectives and languages to find that harmony.”

This post was originally published in College of Design Blog.