First-year industrial design students begin their academic career by diving into classes that build core design skills. Students learn to sketch, model, design, and visually communicate in studio courses taught by ID faculty and industry experts. Lecture classes introduce students to the history of industrial design, and the breadth of career opportunities afforded by the discipline. With this broad learning in their first year, our students are well-positioned to be skillful, creative problem solvers.

As sophomores, ID students connect to research, expand their digital design skills, and build fundamental skills in smart product design – a hallmark of our program. View a sample course below. 

In the classroom we continue to zoom out, exploring the role of students in product and service systems design, brand and experience design, and design entrepreneurship. Studios often work with notable Atlanta clients such as Coca-Cola, Emory Healthcare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCR, MailChimp, Chick-fil-A, Porsche, and others.

Senior students bring all their skills to the table in a final capstone design project, solving significant problems with their comprehensive design skills. Several choose to participate in interdisciplinary teams with engineers to tackle real-world problems and generate beautiful solutions that really work. View a sample senior year course below.