July 21, 2026

Re:purposed Explores the Future of Industrial Design

A new documentary, re:purposed — the evolution of industrial design, explores how the field is moving beyond mass production toward collaboration, empathy, systems thinking and sustainability. Co-produced by NC State College of Design department head Audrey Barnes and filmmaker John Trice, the film brings together designers, educators and industry leaders to examine the profession’s past, present and future.

July 14, 2026

Investing in Future Designers

Through essential funding and a community of mentors and peers, the Design Pathways Program supports design students in need of financial aid, empowering them to achieve their academic goals.

July 09, 2026

A Decade of Vision: Ten Years of Transformative Leadership

Over the past decade, Dean Hoversten has led the NC State College of Design through a period of growth, expanded impact and deepened community. 

July 01, 2026

New Members Join College of Design Leaders Council

Seven new members join the College of Design Leaders Council in 2026, an advisory body to the college. In addition to the new cohort of members, president Jennifer Heintz will step down as Betsy Peters Rascoe assumes the role for the next two years.

June 23, 2026

Designing Together: Inside the First GXD+ID Joint Studio with Lenovo

In a new sponsored studio from Lenovo, students from industrial design and graphic & experience design came together to work as unified, holistic design teams. The studio asks a fundamental question: what happens when hardware and software designers learn to think and build together from the start?

June 12, 2026

XR Showcase Highlights Immersive Learning in Action 

The first-ever XR Showcase took place April 8, 2026, at D.H. Hill Library in the Faculty Research Commons. The XR Showcase highlighted how faculty across campus are transforming the classroom through extended reality (XR) technology — giving faculty and staff a space to explore innovative XR projects and connect outside of their daily work.  Hosted…

February 06, 2026

College of Design Dean Mark Hoversten to Step Down

College of Design Dean Mark Hoversten will step down effective July 1, 2026, after dedicating a decade of service to NC State.

September 09, 2025

Walden’s Way South

In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers, a new exhibit designed by an interdisciplinary team of Wolfpackers, opens at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design this week.

July 30, 2025

Soundbites of Graduate Student Research

The annual Graduate Student Research Symposium provides a bird’s eye view of the diversity and quality of research being conducted at NC State. Six graduate student presenters share the societal challenges that motivate them to Think and Do.

June 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…

June 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.

June 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