Andrés Tellez, Ph.D.
Leaders Council Member; Assistant Professor, Appalachian State University
Bio
Dr. Andrés Tellez (he/him/his) is a versatile designer, researcher, and educator with a distinguished academic career of nearly two decades. Dr. Tellez holds a Ph.D. in Design from North Carolina State University, a Master’s in Education, and a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design, from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. His expertise stretches across human-centered design, design research, and design thinking.
Currently, Dr. Tellez serves as an Assistant Professor in Design Foundations at Appalachian State University. Prior to this, he spearheaded the Department of Product Design at Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Colombia, demonstrating his leadership capabilities in academic administration.
Dr. Tellez’s research explores the intersection of design and education, with specific interests in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in design education, empathy development in industrial design programs, and applying design thinking to non-designer problem-solving.
As an educator, Dr. Tellez has enriched graduate and undergraduate teaching at multiple universities. He coordinates and teaches foundational design courses at Appalachian State University, where students learn the use of design principles and elements in 2D and 3D formats.
As the Design Foundations Coordinator at Appalachian State University, Dr. Tellez has proposed and led initiatives to reimagine and update foundational design curricula to make them more relevant to the current demands and conditions of the design profession.