Biography:

Stephen Chininis, IDSA, is a Professor of Practice in the School of Industrial Design at Georgia Tech and the principal of Chininis Product Development Group. His career spans over four decades as an inventor and educator. Chininis holds a Master of Science in Industrial Design from Georgia Tech"96, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Industrial Design and minors in Graphic Design and Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art "81.

His professional work focuses on developing products for the toy and housewares industries, with over 30 patents and more than 100 licensed products. His designs have won awards, including "Parenting Magazine's 10 Best Toys" and the "2001 Design Plus Award." At Georgia Tech, Chininis leads the Make 10 initiative, which serves as an incubator for students to test new product ideas. He also coaches and mentors for the CREATE-X program, a Georgia Tech initiative to instill entrepreneurial skills in students and help them launch startups. Chininis has been exploring the micro factory environment through his Etsy Store, using 3D printing to create products. His client list ha included Griffin Technology, Conair, Playskool, Kids II, Fisher-Price Toys, Mattel Toys, Hasbro Toys, and The Coca-Cola Company. Chininis specializes in product conception, visualization, and development across various consumer product categories. His work as an educator, inventor, and entrepreneur continues to influence the field of industrial design and innovation.

In the past 3 years Chininis has worked with students to help develop Wash Bus and Mobile Laundry strategies for 5 different charity groups. These vehicles provide services for the unhoused, at risk students, and immigrant populations in several US cities.

Teaching Interest:

My work as a design educator centers around the idea that design can have lasting impact. Understanding how a product can be produced and what tools will be used to manufacture it, can help designers develop better products. Along with teaching students basic design principles and methodologies, I feel it is essential for them to also understand  how design can be used as a tool for social impact.

I'm interested in helping students:
Design for Manufacturing
Design for Sustainability
Design using digital manufacturing tools
Design with empathy 
Design for Innovation and Entrepreneurship / Make 10 / Create X
Design for Social Impact

Research Interest:

After many years of designing products for large scale production, along with an interest in entrepreneurship, I saw a need to develop better methods to manufacture products for small to medium scale production. Using digitally controlled tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC we are investigating new ways to produce products.

List of Recent Scholarly Work:

Design of Social Impact. In the past 3 years Stephen has worked with students to help develop Wash Bus and Mobile Laundry strategies for 5 different charity groups. These vehicles provide services for the unhoused, at risk students, and immigrant populations in several US cities.

Degrees with Year of Award:

BFA in Industrial Design, Cleveland Institute of Art, 1981
MS in Industrial Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996