Announced in November 2008, the Interior Design program joined Industrial Design and Visual Communication under a new banner of the School of Design Innovation. As units concerned with the future of design and the accompanying issues of sustainability, social responsibility in practice and production, and collaboration in the professional world, the grouping of the three units provides a basis for strengthening connections between faculty, students, and curriculum that have been ongoing within the college in practice.
This combined effort seeks to address evolving design challenges of the twenty-first century. Global considerations of human relevancy, ecological sustainability, and advancing technology steer the shaping of design artifacts and environments in today’s world deeply affected by the process globalization.
The Department of Design Sciences, established in 1977, was comprised of Interior Design and Industrial Design programs, which moved from the Department of Home Economics and College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, respectively. In 1989, the department was renamed the School of Design. The graphic design program joined the school in June 1996, moving from the School of Art and joining the School of Design.
In 2005, the School of Design was disestablished and three separate units: the Department of Graphic Design, Department of Industrial Design, and the Department of Interior Design were established. The Graphic Design program changed its name to the Department of Visual Communication Design to reflect the interactive and environmental design of today’s graphics profession.
The Master of Science in Design degree program, comprised of specializations or concentrations in Arts/Media/Engineering, Healthcare and Healing Environments, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Interaction Design, New Product Innovation, and Visual Communication Design, is part of the School of Design Innovation as well.
|
