This presentation explores a mindful approach to teaching graphic design history by shifting from rigid canons to a thematic, story-driven model. Through reflection, inclusivity, and experiential learning, students connect personally with history, fostering engagement, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of design’s past, present, and future.

This presentation discusses the pedagogical opportunities and challenges associated with extra-departmental collaboration between design programs and STEM fields. It identifies the benefits created for students as they work toward a shared goal, solve problems, and bridge gaps, as well as the barriers that arise from conflicting cultures, communication, and expectations.

This study investigates how sensory interaction design enhances soil education through multi-sensory elements like touch, visuals, and sound in an interactive installation. By fostering public engagement and emotional connection, this approach makes complex soil data more accessible. Usability testing evaluates engagement, comprehension, and educational impact through real-time feedback and user experience assessments.

In this presentation, I will discuss what we have done in our program to embrace AI technology, the rules we have established for using it, show examples of its use, and demonstrate the capabilities in an academic setting.

Design education often lacks a diversity focus, leading to biased designs. This presentation introduces an "Equitable Design Toolkit" with resources like the "Wheel of Power/Privilege" and "Identity Definition Cards" to foster inclusive design thinking and challenge privilege in design classrooms, preparing students for equitable and socially responsible design.

This presentation highlights a design mentorship program that combines mindful design values like empathy and adaptability to connect students with alumni mentors. By cultivating meaningful relationships, the program supports self-awareness, problem-solving, and professional growth, preparing the next generation of designers to navigate complexity with resilience and purpose.

We can integrate mindfulness into our teaching approach by encouraging students to be present and engaged during the problem-solving process. By introducing techniques promoting mindfulness, we can better equip students to adopt more focused methodologies, enhancing their conceptual explorations and solutions.

COVID Comics, Cubed explores mindfulness, resilience, and storytelling by merging comics and extended reality (XR). The interactive exhibition examines how comics fostered public health education, emotional processing, and community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through immersive technology, participants engage in a reflective, multimodal experience, deepening empathy and presence.

Snack break in the Rowe Lobby!

Three years into a ten-year collaboration between Penn State Graphic Design and the University Libraries to design engagement experiences for library patrons, faculty and students consider the limitations of human centered research in building empathic partnerships and ongoing attunement.

This workshop will cover basic techniques for hand-stitching decorative drop caps through cross stitch (counted embroidery with X’s). This beginner-friendly craft has been shown to support mental health and general well being. It also has great potential to support interesting graphic design. No experience necessary, all materials will be provided.

This workshop offers an interdisciplinary approach to mindfulness by combining 3D printed components with electronics. Through group-based construction and coding, participants will create a timer-triggered toy that encourages focus and reassurance through a led matrix and a servo powered indicator.

This workshop explores how mindfulness enhances inclusivity in design education. Through interactive exercises like the Iceberg Exercise and Mindful Self-Audit, educators will assess teaching methods and integrate mindfulness strategies. Participants will gain practical tools to foster inclusive, empathetic, and equitable learning environments that value diverse student perspectives.

Attendees will learn about “Curious Minds: The Sequel,” a creativity and curiosity reboot camp for our post-graduates. This event provided opportunities for our alums to reconnect with the campus space and incubation place of ideas while learning with fellow curious minds to refresh their creativity skills by engaging in creative acts and radical curiosity.

In response to declining enrollment and industry demands, We developed a 12-credit UX Design Certificate in Art and Design at a 4-year university. This paper details the curriculum design process, interdisciplinary challenges, and approval hurdles. The initiative highlights strategic curriculum development and offers a model for integrating UX education in higher education.

Part of my research addresses the practice of moving away from Eurocentric and Westernized systems of historic traditions in graphic design history. Research information, images, and artifacts continue to be documented in visual thinking journals. This presentation discusses how these journals were adopted into a history course and helped students learn and retain information.

This study examines how visual cues in photographs influence design decisions despite identical text-based personas. Findings reveal that participants often inferred demographic traits, leading to biased aesthetic and narrative choices. The research highlights the need for bias awareness and reflective practices to promote inclusivity in user-centered design.

Join us for lunch as we provide a brief presentation followed by small group discussions on UCDA’s AI Strategic Initiative. This initiative aims to support design educators and design professionals by building thought leadership, resources, networking/community, professional development, and best practices guidelines for ethical and professional usage of AI in the design field. 

Drawing parallels between Feminism and Design pedagogy is a fundamental act of social justice, inclusion, and equity. We can explore the connection using five pillars of Feminism and exploring their inclusion into Design pedagogy, and how they can shape and transform Design education as a whole.

This session will present case studies highlighting how strategic design interventions, from logos and signage to environmental graphics, shape school culture and communicate values. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own roles as educators and designers, exploring how they might apply principles of mindfulness and intentionality in their own work. Through this discussion, we will consider how design can serve as a powerful tool for equity, representation, and educational transformation.

This presentation explores a student-centered critique approach that reduces anxiety by emphasizing peer feedback, decentralizing faculty authority, and fostering a supportive environment. By empowering students to develop the course critique process, students gain confidence, engage more actively, and take ownership of their development as critical thinkers in design education.

This project analyzes keywords from Design Incubation's colloquium research archive to track communication design research trends over the past decade. Using text analysis, we identified common and emerging topics. The goal is to contribute to a taxonomy for organizing research in the disciplinary field of communication design research.

My project, Weaving Visual Identities Beyond Borders Through Immersive Design, bridges Iranian miniature painting and American comic book storytelling to create hybridized visual narratives. It fosters empathy, cultural dialogue, and shared experiences using augmented reality and audience engagement, showcasing how mindful design connects diverse design traditions.

This paper examines theories of Scaffolding, Gamification, and Self-Awareness as a way to realign CAD education toward nurturing metacognition through a Responsive User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI). Metacognition is made possible by a framework that combines elements of all three theories to address Accessibility, Customization, and Awareness.

Graphic design, especially through websites, can be a tool for social change. Websites, when designed for accessibility, democratize information, amplify marginalized voices, and foster inclusive, interactive communities. By prioritizing accessibility, designers can support social justice efforts and promote cultural understanding through digital platforms.

In Spring 2023 I launched a center for community collaboration on campus for design students to engage in projects that address real-world issues. This presentation will explore how design education intersects with social impact, highlighting case studies of successful (and sometimes challenging) collaborations and highlight best practices for structuring campus-based design collaboration to maximize both student learning and community impact.

A workshop on identity, values, and mindful design inspired a condensed version for students, fostering self-awareness and deeper engagement with their projects. The approach enhanced creativity, motivation, and design choices. This presentation explores the workshop’s development, student outcomes, and strategies for incorporating reflective practices into upper-level design studio courses.

An examination of innovative strategies for teaching emerging technologies both in and out of the classroom. By emphasizing creative agency, critical thinking, and metacognition, students navigate between artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and traditional design methods. Practical insights for implementing technology-enhancements, maintaining pedagogical rigor and hands-on learning in curricula are discussed.

The abstract shares my experience working with nontraditional, first-generation design students from marginalized backgrounds. To address gaps in the design curriculum, I developed a free supplemental lecture series, EXTRA, aimed at creating pathways for economic and social mobility through creative intervention. This presentation will provide insights into the participating students, the identified challenges, and a visual survey of the lecture content and posters.

As mental health concerns rise among college students, particularly Gen Z, art and design faculty are adopting strategies like mindfulness sessions and wellness breaks to support well-being. The Happiness Project helps students reflect on purpose, build community, and address mental health challenges, fostering resilience and academic success.