Industrial Design
The Industrial Design Program prepares students to be creative, practical, user-centered, aesthetics-focused, problem-solving, and opportunity-exploring designers, design strategists, or design leaders.
The NC State University Industrial Design Program is one of the top professional programs in this discipline in the country. The program offers Bachelor of Industrial Design (BID) and Master of Industrial Design (MID) degrees, both accredited by The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Students learn and practice design in a studio environment very similar to that of professional design offices. Students methodically study human physical and cognitive interaction with artifacts and services in order to discover user experience insights and then create innovative solutions to design problems. The dynamic and sophisticated balance of form, function, innovation, and practicality are constantly debated and articulated throughout the journey to better design.
Finally, a Home
The Industrial Design faculty have joined NC State University from prestigious institutions around the world, each bringing years of experience in design, research, innovation, and education. The graduates from the program are enhancing the quality of life experiences with the creative design of products, services, branding, and communication systems for companies such as IDEO, Nike, Volvo, IBM, Toshiba, Dell, Pentagram, PepsiCo, RKS Design, Microsoft, The Smithsonian, Adidas, Hasbro, Target, and Bosch.
What is Industrial Design?
Industrial design is the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value, and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both user and manufacturer. Industrial designers develop these concepts and specifications for the user and manufacturer through the collection, analysis, and synthesis of data, often within the context of cooperative working relationships with other members of a development group such as management, marketing, engineering, and manufacturing specialists. They then communicate their clear and concise recommendations through drawings, models, and verbal descriptions that embody all relevant design criteria determined by the group.
The industrial designer’s unique contribution emphasizes those aspects of the product or system that relate most directly to human characteristics, needs, experiences, and interests. This contribution requires specialized understanding of visual, spatial, and tactile senses as well as product safety and convenience criteria. Industrial designers are experts in anticipating psychological, physiological and sociological factors and perceptions that influence users of products and services. Industrial designers also maintain a practical concern for the technical processes and requirements for manufacturing; marketing opportunities and economic constraints; and regulatory requirements relevant to good design.
In addition to supplying concepts for products and systems, industrial designers are often retained for consultation on a variety of problems that have to do with product and organization identity systems, development of communication systems, interior and exhibit design, advertising devices and packaging, and other related services. Their expertise is often sought in a wide variety of administrative arenas to assist in developing industry standards, regulatory guidelines, and quality control procedures to improve manufacturing operations and products. Industrial designers are guided by a professional obligation to protect the public safety and well-being, to respect the environment, and to observe contractual and ethical business practices.
See Student Work
See more examples of student work here: Department of Industrial Design Student Work
The Brian Shawcroft Prize is awarded every year to a student from the School of Architecture for demonstrating excellence in drawing by hand.
Now in its 29th year, the competition traditionally showcases student submissions in the Brooks Hall Gallery as a running exhibition for students and visitors alike. Stay tuned to see who the 2023 winners will be!
🗣 Upcoming Exhibition: "Rooted - Cultural Centricity in Brand Making"
🗓 Friday, September 29
⏰ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
📍 Witherspoon Student Center, Art Gallery, Second Floor | 2810 Cates Ave., Raleigh, NC 27606
Britt Davis, a 2009 College of Design alum and co-founder of LCKR ROOM, will exhibit her work for the NC State African American Cultural Center. Join us for a sneaker ball-themed opening night. Davis` art and artist talk will inspire ways to create from your life experiences and the stories you carry with you.
Born and raised in the artsy city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Brittany “Britt” Davis has always been drawn to the arts. From building intricate LEGO sets to drawing sneakers from Eastbay magazine, her childhood was full of creativity and design. Today, Britt’s designs are fueled by creative innovation and driven by the opportunity to use design as a platform to inspire others.
After attending NC State’s Summer Design Camp on campus, Britt decided to pursue a degree in Industrial Design. She earned her Bachelor’s degree, along with the Dean’s Award, Ebony Harlem Design and Nash Winstead Academic Achievement Awards, in 2009, along with a minor in Graphic Design.
While a student at NC State, she participated in the peer mentor program, student ambassador, Design Camp TA, and board member on the Union Activities Board (Marketing Chair), African America Design Student Association (VP), Helping Youth Prepare to Excel (Treasurer), and the Heritage Society. She remains active with the Black Alumni Society, having designed the Homecoming shirts for several years.
She went on to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her education has brought many professional experiences, including designing for ESPN, Viacom, SB Nation, NASCAR, multiple universities and professional sports teams, athletes and a variety of brands.
Five days until the best season. 🐺🍁
Where`s your favorite Fall COD study spot?
🎗️🐺 In honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we want you to meet Danny Garrett - a former Marine and Master of Advanced Architectural Studies (MAAS) student, on a mission to make a difference.
Danny`s story is one of determination and compassion. After his service, he embarked on a journey in @ncstate_architecture`s MAAS program, focusing on researching the factors that contribute to veteran homelessness and suicide.
By combining research methodologies with architectural design, Danny`s vision aims to create a lasting impact by designing a sustainable, community-based housing typology tailored to the specific needs of veterans. 🏡❤️
To learn more about how @ncstate is participating in Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and to register for related events and trainings, visit the link in our bio.
There is always hope. If you are thinking about suicide, you deserve immediate help. To speak with a crisis counselor, call 919.515.2423 or the National Suicide Hotline by dialing 988.
We`re making the extraordinary happen across the landscape. 🐺🏞
Congratulations to @NCStateLAEP + @ncstate_architecture students and faculty for a total of 🔥seven🔥 awards and recognitions during the @nationalasla Awards.
Pictured, in order:
🏆 "Dynamic Roots" by Dillon Patel, Student ASLA; Joseph Lamonica, Student ASLA; Stephany Luna-Rivas, Student ASLA
About: Dynamic Roots reimagines Wilmington’s Battleship Park, merging innovative design, collaborative work, and a deep reverence for the site’s historical and ecological context.
🏆 "Nicks Creek Longleaf Reserve Conservation & Management Plan" by the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (@ncsucoastaldynamics)
About: The Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL) received an honor award in the analysis and planning category from ASLA for 2023. Their project, Nicks Creek Longleaf Reserve Conservation & Management Plan, analyzed and created a conservation master plan for the restoration, adaptive management, and use of a 1600-acre patch of Longleaf Pine forest in the Sandhills ecoregion.
🏆 "On the Edge: A Climate Adaptive Park for the Battleship NC Memorial" by Marguerite Kroening, Student ASLA; Stella Wang, Student ASLA
About: On the Edge proposes a redesign for the parklands surrounding the Battleship North Carolina. The reimagined site celebrates a challenging narrative of place that reveal and highlight multifaceted histories while embracing infiltrating water.
🏆 "Advancing Trauma-Informed Landscape Architecture" by Lauren Joca, Associate ASLA.
About: Communities are challenged with climate change, habitat loss, and social conflicts resulting in trauma experienced by individuals and held in the land. Traumatizing land use causes physical, ecological, or contextual damage to landscapes.
🏆 "Design Tactics for Climate-Based Migration in Biodiversity Corridors" by Marybeth Campeau, Associate ASLA
About: This project addresses biodiversity conservation through corridor design, exploring how the strategic application of design tactics at multiple sites and scales can facilitate climate-related movement as species track their ecological niche.
Be sure to check out all of the projects and awards in our bio. 🎉
🖼🏅 Architecture alumnus and current doctoral student Raja Manikam Bandari (@raja_manikam_brv) recently won an honorable mention in @ncstate`s Envisioning Research Contest for his graphic titled "The Spread of Cotton and Slavery."
⬇️ About the piece:
"The Huge Hurricane in the middle is disguised by two graphs. These graphs show the spectacular growth of cotton as a commercially significant crop in the United States.
The timeline increases from bottom to top. The left graph charts the total amount of cotton produced annually in the United States (in ten-year intervals), amounts that exceeded 2 billion pounds per year by the 1850s.
The right graph charts the increasing monetary value of U.S. cotton exports and notes the percentage of all U.S. exports accounted for in each year by cotton alone.
Thus, to take the single year 1830 as an example, the left graph shows you that the United States produced about 1.5 billion pounds of cotton that year, while the right-hand side graph shows you that the sale of cotton abroad in 1830 brought about $75 million into the U.S. economy, and it notes that the $75 million generated that year by cotton exports represented 49% of all of the money brought into the U.S. economy that year by export sales of all sorts, agricultural and industrial.
Never before or since has a single commodity so dominated the American economy, and the vast majority of that commodity was being produced with slave labor. Interestingly, along with the hurricane, in the backdrop, there are the Historic Hurricane tracks of the United States between the years 1842-2020.
These hurricane tracks represent the cruelty faced by the slaves. The picture insert depicts an enslaved man named Peter, who was treated very badly during the cotton plantation era. Peter had been through hell. The scars on his back can be compared to the hurricane patterns of the United States (many lines across the image).
The small water droplet at the bottom grows into a huge hurricane. This symbolically represents the slavery and cotton plantations that grew throughout the US like a hurricane."
🎨 🖼 The College of Design and @ncstategreggmuseum are continuing the celebration of the college`s 75th anniversary through a new exhibit opening on September 7 at 6 pm.
You are invited to the grand opening of `Leading by Design: 75 Years of College of Design.` Expect delicious hors d`oeuvres, mesmerizing live music and more.
Through a partnership between the College of Design and the Gregg, `Leading by Design` honors the college`s extraordinary legacy by spotlighting artworks created by the college`s faculty and instructors who have made a monumental impact on the school`s history and design professions.
Learn more in our bio.
🧑🎨: Joe Cox, Untitled, 1964. From the collection at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design.
Fall semester is for friendship. 🤗🐺🍂
Thank you to all the students, faculty and staff who came out to kick off the new academic year with us during the Back to School BBQ.
When coursework gets challenging and the studio gets stressful, remember that you have a whole community of designers who are here to provide support when you need it.
Let`s make Fall 2023 one for the books. 🤘
🏅🐺 Huge news from @ncsucoastaldynamics!
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) named @ncstate a regional winner of the 2023 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Scholarship Award. As a winner, NC State will compete for the national C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship award, which will be announced in November.
The award recognizes the work of NC State’s Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL), which organizes and leads cross-disciplinary research and design teams that address critical ecological and community development challenges in small and rural communities that are working to build resilience toward or recover from flood disasters.
The CDDL highlights NC State’s land-grant mission through engagement, research, teaching and design to serve historically under-resourced areas in Eastern North Carolina. Since its founding in 2013, the CDDL has worked collaboratively in 30 communities, recommending actions that resulted in more than $13 million in direct-to-community funding.
“This award recognizes our institution’s critical work to not only address grand challenges in our society, but to bring practical, lasting solutions to the communities we were created to serve across North Carolina,” said Randy Woodson, NC State University Chancellor. “As our state grows, the importance of partnerships grows as well, as demonstrated by the continued impact of the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab.”
“The work of the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab is transformative in that it brings together designers, scientists and local stakeholders to address the needs of coastal communities,” said Mark Hoversten, NC State University Dean of the College of Design. “The APLU’s recognition of the lab’s success is a testament to its impact, and demonstrates the importance of cross-disciplinary work for lasting impact in our communities.”
The winner of the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award will receive a sculpture and $20,000 prize. The three other regional winners will each receive a $5,000 prize to further their work.
The lab was also recently featured in @metropolismag for their work - link in bio.
As we enter a fresh semester, we are presented with a fresh array of challenges. Juggling academic commitments, studio sessions, internships, employment, and personal matters can potentially result in accumulating stress, anxiety, and even depression.
Emily Burdo, LCSW, has taken on the role of a full-time embedded counselor at the College of Design. In her new capacity within the college, Burdo’s primary objective is to establish an inviting environment for personalized emotional support. Additionally, she aims to equip students with the necessary resources to explore various avenues of mental health assistance.
Learn about how she plans to help design students get access to mental health care @NCState in our bio.
It’s been a good week. 🐺❤️
Design. ✍️ Build. 🛠️ Repeat. 🔁
This summer, the School of Architecture took on a gigantic (tiny) challenge. Throughout the span of 11 weeks, a team of nine students and four instructors experienced every stage of the design-build process by constructing its own tiny house on campus.
While students learned hard skills such as electrical rigging, plumbing and mechanical construction techniques, they also had a crash course in designing sustainable and affordable housing with a minimal footprint.
Learn more about this comprehensive @ncstate_architecture project in our bio!