Wendell Wilson


Professor of Practice, School of Industrial Design


wendell.wilson@design.gatech.edu

(770) 321-9482


Wendell Wilson, IDSA, is a Professor of Practice in Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial Design. His teaching reinforces the connection between research and design. Recent class projects include collaborations with the CDC, VA, and industry sponsors.

Professor Wilson has received several awards for his teaching, while his students’ work has been been recognized — Grand Prize Winner of the Design Museum of Boston’s Street Seats Competition, Electrolux DesignLab Competition, the Victor J. Papanek Social Design Award, a GREEN Champion Award from CDC/HHS, and most recently one of 1 of 10 Finalists from field of 200 international entries from 92 Universities from 43 Countries as a part of the 2017 Global Grad Show in Dubai Design Week.

He has operated Designasaurus since 1991, which specializing in product development and structural packaging. Previously, Wilson was Vice President of Product Design for Lee Payne Associates in Atlanta.

Recent projects of note include mockups used in the recent Jason Bourne motion picture and the design of digital tape measures, one of which is currently a bestseller in the MOMA catalog. Wendell’s work has also received an IDEA Gold award, named as an IDEA Finalist, received the 2015 National Hardware Show New Product World Winner, and a NASA Group Achievement Award.

Experience

  • Designasaurus Industrial Design Works Inc.: Principal, 3/91-Present
    Currently operating as an independent Industrial Design Consultant specializing in product development & design, servicing clients from across the U.S.
  • Georgia Institute of Technology; Professor of the Practice, 9/90-12/2003 & 8/09-Present
    Instruct 1-2 courses-per-semester within the School of Industrial Design. Courses instructed to-date include model-making, marker sketching/rendering, materials & processes, technical drawing, sophomore - senior studios, professional practices, senior “thesis” and various graduate level studios.
  • Lee Payne Associates; Vice President of Product Design, 11/89 - 3/91
    LPA was an Atlanta based Industrial Design consulting firm with a staff of 10-12 employees.  As VP of Product Design, I was responsible for many aspects of day–to-day operation and staffing in addition to the duties I performed previously as Director of Product Design.
  • Lee Payne Associates; Director of Product Design, 9/87 - 11/89
    Provided direction for ongoing product design activities in addition to serving as the principle designer and/or project manager for many design programs. Responsible for cost estimation, budget management, proposal preparation, job scheduling, billing, client/vendor coordination, sales, staff supervision and personnel development.
  • Lee Payne Associates; Project Manager, 11/83 - 9/87
    Responsible for individual design programs from concept through production (or any point between). Specific responsibilities included project cost estimation and budgeting, supervision of staff & consultants within the scope of individual design programs.  Provided primary design input on well over 200 design programs, including medical products, business electronics, industrial equipment, consumer products and packaging. Design-related duties included 2D & 3D ideation, sourcing and specification of components, model fabrication, preparation of final sketches or renderings, dimensional documentation, and presentation of work to clients.
  • Auburn University; Graduate Teaching Assistant, 9/78 - 6/82 
    Taught classes within the Industrial Design Department & technical drawing courses within the School of Engineering. Managed the Industrial Design Model Shop.
  • Noel Designs Inc.; Designer/Technician, 5-77 - 8/78 
    Noel Designs, based in Kansas City, Missouri, specialized in one-off furniture designs and furnishings for contract/residential specification

Education

  • Auburn University; M.I.N.D. (Master of Industrial Design):  Major emphasis on human factors, design methodology and systems design. Thesis work involved the design of a hardware system to facilitate source separation of household refuse for recycling purposes.
  • Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design; B.F.A:  Major emphasis in Product, Industrial, and Furniture Design. Also studied Community, Environmental, and Packaging Design.

Refereed Publications and Submitted Articles

  • Wilson, W., Choi, Y. M., Purdy, T. (2017). Introducing Digital Fabrication to Early Year Design Students. 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 17), Vancouver, Canada, August 21-25, 2017.  (Submitted August 10, 2016)
  • Wilson, W., Choi, Y.M., Jones, B. (2016). Teaching Universal Design in the Early Stages of a Design Curriculum: Involving End Users in a Student Project. Universal Design 2016. York, UK. August 21-24, 2016.
  • Wilson, W., Choi, Y.M. (2013). "Improving Multi-Disciplinary Design Education in Sponsored Studio Projects". Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) International Conference. Chicago, Il, August 21-24, 2013.

Recent Honors and Awards

  • Green Champion Award; Honorable Mention from the CDC/HHS for “Contributions to the Local University Partnership” for continuing collaboration between my design studios and the CDC during 2015 (2016)
  • “Thank-A-Teacher Awards” from GA Tech CETL (Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning): Spring 2012 (1), Spring 2013 (1), Fall 2013 (2), Spring 2014 (1), Spring 2015 (1), Spring 2016 (1) (2012-16)
  • 2015 National Hardware Show; New Product World Winner; Differentiation/Uniqueness; eTape16 Digital Tape Measure was awarded by DIY Network (May 2015)