Industrial Design: The First Steps at Georgia Tech
Industrial Design at Georgia Tech traces its origins to 1940, when the Institute introduced courses inspired by the emerging field of industrial design and the ideas of the Bauhaus. At its core, the Bauhaus sought to unite art, craft, and technology into a single creative practice, cultivating the "craftsman-artist." This philosophy became a foundational influence on modern design. Although World War II temporarily interrupted these early efforts, the program was formally reestablished in 1952 under the leadership of Hin Bredendieck, a former Bauhaus student and faculty member of the New Bauhaus in Chicago.
Bredendieck brought to Georgia Tech a vision of design that extended beyond aesthetics and craftsmanship. He viewed design as a systematic and evolving discipline grounded in human needs, technical knowledge, and societal responsibility. This approach became a defining characteristic of Industrial Design at Georgia Tech.
The Science of Design
Under Bredendieck's leadership, the program developed a national reputation for combining creative practice with rigorous inquiry. Alongside influential programs, Georgia Tech helped establish what became known as the “New South” of design education, emphasizing user-centered research as the foundation for thoughtful and responsible innovation.
This tradition reflected Bredendieck's belief that design should continuously evolve by incorporating new knowledge, methods, and technologies. Long before design research became common across the discipline, Georgia Tech was helping define a more systematic and evidence-based approach to design practice.
Technology and Human Experience
As technology transformed society, the School evolved alongside it. Human-centered technology, interactive products, intelligent systems, accessibility, and emerging technologies became central areas of teaching and research.
Through close collaboration with engineering, computing, business, architecture, and the social sciences, Georgia Tech Industrial Design developed a distinctive position at the intersection of technology and humanity.
Building on its long-standing commitment to research and interdisciplinary collaboration, the School of Industrial Design partnered with the School of Interactive Computing to establish the Ph.D. in Integrated Design and Computing (IDC), a program dedicated to advancing knowledge at the intersection of design, computing, technology, and society.
Top 10 for Design Education in the United States
In 2014 DesignIntelligence, the ranking publication for schools of design and architecture, recognized the School of Industrial Design at Georgia Tech in both of its top 10 lists for design education in the United States. The publication surveyed design firms with the question, “In your firm’s hiring experience, in the past five years, which schools are best preparing students for success in the profession?” The results: Georgia Tech's undergraduate industrial design program was ranked seventh in the country, and the graduate program was ranked second.