Audrey Barnes

Bio

Audrey Barnes (she/they) is a design leader known for questioning the status quo and fostering collaboration. Much of her work focuses on transdisciplinary approaches to community, equity, design justice, and climate action. Audrey’s creative practice centers on underrepresented populations, play, children in nature, and crafting thought-provoking, bespoke objects.

Audrey maintains an active scholarly and creative agenda. She is currently involved in a multi-year project on biophilic tactical urbanism, aiming to enhance biodiversity in American schoolyards through the computational cultivation of plants. Additionally, she is producing an episodic film and research project highlighting best practices and hopeful stories addressing the diversity deficit within industrial design.

With extensive experience as an in-house designer and freelancer, Audrey has led her own design consultancy since 2006, partnering with non-profits, Fortune 500s, academic researchers, and entrepreneurs. Her expertise spans leading-edge technologies, consumer products, design strategy, branding, and design research. Prior to joining NC State’s College of Design, Audrey was a Professor of Industrial Design at James Madison University (JMU), where she founded the BS of Industrial Design degree.

Audrey holds a Master of Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design and a Bachelor of Industrial Design from NC State University.