Design is a pervasive term that envelops almost every aspect of contemporary culture from town planning and landscaping, to familiar products and web or software interfaces. It has been said that “design is [a way of] making sense of things” and this may ultimately be the best way to define such an all-encompassing practice. Designers studying in this program are taught to observe and respond to the cultural, socio/ economic, material, political, geographic and temporal environment. These are the thoughtful, ethical designers of the future, who will imbue our environments with depth, texture and meaning.

Read the feature: "From the book to the City / How do you educate the people who design everything?"

Gloria Lee

Associate Professor
Assistant Chair of Design

Students in the undergraduate program typically function between the fields more commonly categorized as graphic design, product/industrial design, film/animation, and architecture, creating hybrid environments and artifacts. During their course of study students acquire a working knowledge of an extensive range of design-related media, while they identify and refine a design process and methodology that is appropriate for application across a broad range of disciplines. As a means of considering the full potential of their work they also engage in an exploration of topics influential to designers, including psychology, history, sociology, anthropology, semiology, and literary, film and design criticism. This is a comprehensive education that allows those graduates completing the B.F.A. in Design to navigate the shifting requirements of the field with greater ease, and which invests them with a flexibility needed to practice successfully in a range of venues.

Students in the graduate program initiate research/creative work through a range of projects developed in both structured courses and independent studies with design faculty. Projects should build upon each student’s individual base of knowledge, talent, and perspective. An emphasis is placed on the making of artifacts informed by critical thinking, writing, and discussion and focused through extensive visual investigations of design, culture, and related subjects. Students are encouraged to pursue the making of objects and systems in relationship to these themes, both directly and tangentially. The transdisciplinary nature of design is reinforced through the curriculum of our M.F.A. in Design. The course of study is structured so that students whose research leads them across disciplinary boundaries may easily incorporate coursework from other departments and schools throughout the university.

Design faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin have developed several programs to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaborations. Design and Mechanical Engineering have conducted several collaborative studio-based courses, entitled Design as Cultural Production, that introduce students to a holistic approach to design that goes beyond small-scale problem solving, to pose fundamental questions about future ecological issues and the maintenance or loss of cultural practices in a global economy. There are also strong links with and workshops taught between Design and the School of Architecture, Design and the Business School. Design has also sponsored projects like Land Arts of the American West an experimental collaborative effort between Design at the University of Texas and Studio Art at the University of New Mexico. Each member of our dedicated Design faculty is recognized for achievement in their respective fields and have garnered significant recognition for their work. To view faculty profiles and accomplishments, read the faculty biographies listed on this web page.