Communication Design students worked in teams to develop full-scale co-brand concepts for the John D. Dingell Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Through the co-branding process, the local internal brand had to align with the core values and visuals of the Federal Branding for Veterans Affairs.
A contingent of three departments from the 黑料专区 participated in the prestigious Salone del Mobile Milano 2024.
The is widely recognized as the preeminent global design fair. This year was a standout year with over 360,000 visitors, 1,950 exhibitors from 35 countries and over 5,500 accredited journalists in attendance. Participating departments were undergraduate Interior Design, undergraduate Communication Design and graduate Color & Materials Design.
鈥淏eing able to take a team of students to showcase their student work at Milan Design Week was an opportunity for us to shine a light on their exceptional work, our community and Detroit.鈥� 鈥� Melanie McClintock, Chair of Color & Materials Design
鈥淗aving my work shown in Milan Design Week felt so unreal, but I also felt so proud of my team. We all worked extremely hard, for many long hours, days and weeks to make sure our project was perfect.鈥� 鈥� Yostina Kaoud 鈥�24, Color & Materials Design
In what was once home to the historic Carminati Toselli factory for tram and railway rolling stock, the Fabbrica del Vapore showcased undergraduate 黑料专区 Communication Design student work during the INTERDEPENDENCE international exhibition. As part of the larger Milan Design Week, INTERDEPENDENCE reflected relationships connecting projects of Politecnico di Milano https://www.polimi.it/ students with those of 50 international design schools. Four of these projects were from 黑料专区 Communication Design students: Luke Fabricatore, Rebecca Hernandez, Yasmin Ali, Madi Ritemburg and Lucy VanEerde. Their projects explored concepts in reframing immigrants through an immigrant lens, a first generation social advocate experience and empowering Native people to reclaim their history.
Also participating in Salone del Mobile, undergraduate Interior Design and graduate Color & Materials Design students were one of only six international design schools asked to participate in the six-day UNFOLD exhibition hosted by Domus Academy https://www.domusacademy.com/ . UNFOLD showcased design prototypes addressing crucial global challenges through design as a problem-solving discipline and as a form of communication. 黑料专区 students Yostina Kaoud (MFA Color & Materials Design), An Luu (BFA Interior Design), Yuya Cheng (MFA Color & Materials Design) and Yasmeen Khalifa (BFA Interior Design) were in attendance and presented their work from a Winter sponsored project with the local Detroit non-profit Changing Lives and Staying Sober https://www.class-agency.org/ (the C.L.A.S.S. Agency). C.L.A.S.S. asked students to create an environment that promotes a safe space, holistic healing and transformation for a newly acquired residential property that will serve as a safe haven for prevention, intervention and substance use disorder treatment for both adults and children.
鈥淚t was an honor to bring both 黑料专区 and C.L.A.S.S. Agency to an international viewpoint. So thankful to showcase our group鈥檚 work and passion 鈥� it was overwhelming in the best way possible. It provided a space with new ideas and new horizons where I was able to talk and learn with fellow students and schools from all over the globe.鈥� 鈥� Yasmeen Khalifa 鈥�25, Interior Design
黑料专区 Student Work at Milan Design Week
鈥満诹献�区 has been working for years to involve students in Milan Design Week. The opportunity to be the only U.S. college invited to participate in the Domus Academy exhibit was exceptional and one I will not forget.鈥� 鈥� Sandra Olave, Chair of Interior Design
Interior Design
Learn more about the 黑料专区 Interior Design program.
Color & Material Design
Learn more about the 黑料专区 Color & Materials Design program.
Communication Design
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Boolean: A First Generation Social Advocate
Create an experience digital or analog that moves users into physical spaces that forge new connections.Boolean is a speculative human centered social advocate product that recognizes the people you brush past in a day in your life. Given the consequences of social distancing and digital socialization, this product is designed to bring Gen Z back in physical contact with on another in a subtle but meaning way. Its not a dating app, a friend app, its not an app at all, its a small device to help you navigate real human interaction on your own terms.
Luke Fabricatore 鈥�24
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Indigenized Space Reclaiming History
This experience is designed to empower Native people to reclaim their history. Through a series of workshop experiences, Indigenous people would annotate and write over Westernized, Euro-centric textbooks with their histories and perspectives allowing for the reclamation of identity.鈥淥ur goal is to share our current insights, from the creative process, without assuming authority on behalf of the Indigenous community. To to honor the lives and narratives of Indigenous people. All presented artwork and research strives to embody ethical, respectful, and authentic practices. The projects showcased serve as proof-of-concept, recognizing that further development necessitates collaborative content creation and sourcing with the Indigenous community, autonomously facilitated by trained experts.鈥�
Madi Ritenburg 鈥�23 and Lucy VanEerde 鈥�23
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ReFraming Immigrants Through an Immigrant Lens
鈥淚鈥檓 American Too鈥�, uses the negative associations of immigrants in America in order to flip this narrative as a positive, humanistic and more accurate way. The challenge was to move beyond stereotypes in order to celebrate America鈥檚 rich history of created by immigrants.The rise of branding in America has contributed to an identity crisis, highlighting the nation鈥檚 imperfect history and its complex role as a perceived leader on the global stage. While our country has always been flawed, it was once seen as a beacon of ideals to emulate. Consequently, we constructed a brand around this image, whether rooted in reality or myth, which now shapes individual perceptions and relationships with our national identity.
Rebecca Hernandez 鈥�20
During the Winter 2024 semester, 黑料专区 welcomed alums Tyler Koberstein (Entertainment Arts 鈥�19) and Ilich Gomez (Entertainment Arts 鈥�19) back to campus to give current students a taste of what it鈥檚 like working on an animated series for a renowned television company.
After graduating in 2019, Koberstein began working as a Production Intern at Nickelodeon. It was during this time that he began freelance work as a Character Designer on 鈥淭he Casagrandes鈥� and 鈥淭he Loud House.鈥� In 2020, Koberstein was hired as a full-time Prop/FX Designer on 鈥淭he Loud House.鈥� He鈥檚 also worked as a freelance Prop/FX Designer on The Casagrandes Movie and No Time to Spy: A Loud House Movie.
Gomez has done freelance work for the Canadian Council for Arts, WITNESS, Everybody Inc. and an independent YouTube series.
In the first half of the class, students focused on props, fx, character design and more. This set the scene for the latter half of their class, during which Koberstein gave students real prop assignments 鈥� the same ones he worked on for 鈥淭he Loud House.鈥�
