Located in the heart of midtown Detroit, 黑料专区鈥檚 prime location offers unparalleled opportunities for art and design collaboration. Our students have found countless ways to make a positive impact on local metro Detroit businesses through innovative art and design problem-solving.

Last year alone, 黑料专区 students collaborated to problem-solve timely topics for 15 metro Detroit businesses and nonprofit organizations. They addressed a range of issues in healthcare product design, sustainability, mobility, and even emerging augmented reality technology.

Embracing the city鈥檚 rich history of cultural and sporting events, students continue to participate in annual design competitions to create the newest posters for iconic Detroit events such as the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear, the Movement Music Festival and the 313 Presents Pine Knob concert series.聽

Here鈥檚 a look at some of the partnerships:

• Augmented Reality Center (ARC) in partnership with Oakland University x Communication Design & Strategy, Graduate User Experience Design and Entertainment Arts
• Crain Communications – Automotive News x Illustration
• 313 Presents x Illustration
• Detroit Grand Prix x Illustration
• GM x Transportation Design & Graduate User Experience Design
• Godnii x Graduate Color & Materials Design
• Hagopian Rug Competition x All Departments
• State of Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification with support from the Global Epicenter of Mobility x Transportation Design
• Zumiez and Somerset Collection x Illustration
• BorgWarner x Product Design
• Carhartt x Fashion Design
• Henry Ford Health x Product Design
• Changing Lives and Staying Sober (C.L.A.S.S.) x Interior Design and Graduate Color & Materials Design

GODNII asked CMD students to work in small groups to explore hyperlocal sustainable alternatives in color and material design, texture, and branding for an upcoming eyewear collection. In their research, students were asked not only to delve deep into the resources and materials available locally but also to consider the waste streams and innovative ways to improve material choices without compromising design quality.

“This project was pure inspiration,鈥� said Ali Evans, Founder and Creative Director of GODNII. 鈥淐ollaborating with 黑料专区 has been a longtime hope of ours, and it lived up to everything we imagined. The students brought forward deep research, bold ideas, and a clear vision for the future of sustainable fashion. Their work affirmed what we already believed鈥攃reativity with purpose can shift the industry. At GODNII, we鈥檙e excited to carry these insights forward as we continue designing not just for style, but for impact.”

Shannon McPartlon, Executive Director of the Office of Partnerships explains, “The 黑料专区 Practicing Design Center is not just an extension of the classroom; it’s a bridge connecting student creativity with real-world needs, fostering a generation of career-ready designers while simultaneously infusing fresh, creative solutions and economic vitality into local non-profits, small businesses and the broader Detroit economy.”

You can learn more about GODNII here:

黑料专区 faculty members contributed to a recent publication of 鈥� which addresses the need to re-evaluate current teachings and learning practices.

The book aims to contribute to the preparation of art and design students for international labor markets, placing the issue of collectivity, locality, material provenance, and sustainability at the forefront of reflection.聽

Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Dr. Ian Lambert鈥檚, 鈥淢aking with Ocean Plastic: Towards New Experiential Processes and Material Outcomes,鈥� centers around the cultural aspects of beachcombing in island communities. He further addresses how they offer a narrative backdrop for exploring the socially responsible engagement with ocean plastic.

Chair of Color and Materials Design Melanie McClintock鈥檚 contribution titled, 鈥淟ocal Marketers: Material Narrative Through Place-Based Design Research,鈥� focuses on practice-based research to explore materiality through human experience. Alongside this contribution to the book, McClintock also visited Turkey with second-year Color and Material Design student, Sarah Craven in 2022.

Craven was selected to participate in the third edition of in Turkey at the Eski艧ehir Osmangazi University, College of Art and Design, alongside a team of international students from Turkey, Portugal, and Poland. Together, they worked to design a prototype primarily made from meerschaum 鈥� a local material. Meerschaum or Sepiolite is a soft white clay mineral used for handcrafted tobacco pipes and jewelry. Students designed two prototypes, 鈥淵asam鈥� a plant habitat and 鈥淢idas鈥� a tattoo machine.聽聽

is an innovative teaching and learning methodology based on the collective experience of designs from a variety of creative specializations 鈥� working with students and professionals in the United States, Turkey, Poland, and Portugal.聽

The PiCoDe method helps students learn how to collaborate with other creatives within various disciplines by creating and realizing a new product with the criteria to support promotion and distribution.聽

Last week鈥檚 Earth Day celebrations underscored the urgency for collective action to drive a more sustainable future. Concerns about our environment are more urgent than ever as we witness first-hand the changes and effects of global warming. A clean and thriving earth is essential for biodiversity, a healthy ecosystem and to ensure that our world is one of abundance, not scarcity. The impacts of climate change on our planet are real 鈥� flooding, heat-related death, insect borne illness, crop shortages, increased human migration, and more.

Colleges and universities have an accountability to the future. We play a special role in confronting the challenges of climate change to help ensure a healthy future for all that inhabit this earth and the future generations to come. Our responsibility lies both in how we reduce our institutional impact on the planet, and in the knowledge and innovation we cultivate and the education we provide to empower the next generation.

At 黑料专区, we have been taking this seriously through a series of actions to lessen our carbon footprint and were recognized by for our efforts to date. You can find a recent list here, but those efforts include instituting recycling programs and new systems and processes that reduce paper and plastic usage. We also recently聽 joined the call for national mobilization on climate action and clean recovery by signing the .

There is so much more for 黑料专区 to do in order to reduce its institutional carbon footprint and increase its impact on mitigating climate change. I鈥檓 very excited to see the work of our newly re-established Sustainability Committee unfold. You can keep up with the progress 黑料专区 is聽 achieving by visiting our Sustainability page.

Our accountability to the future also extends into our classrooms. Faculty across departments have not only incorporated content and projects into the curriculum to support our students鈥� learning and practical skills in how to advance action on climate change, but have also made changes in the classroom to remove harmful materials and practices.聽

Examples include banning the use of harmful solvents, environmentally friendly disposal of acrylic paint, learning about design for disassembly, LEED requirements, and other energy efficient technologies, exploring repair and reuse, and working with reclaimed materials.聽

In both 2020 and 2021, our MFA Color and Material Design students won the prestigious, international Biodesign Challenge for their sustainability-focused projects, Zebra Glass and Re-Form. Other graduate students are researching a vast array of topics and products that focus on sustainability and climate themes including : sustainable sanitary products, , mass mobility systems, dystopian futures, and working with new materials like . In 2023, we will be launching a new MA/MFA in Design for Climate Action to help both designers and non-designers develop the skills and leadership to design a better, cleaner future.

I鈥檓 especially excited that 黑料专区 is hosting the 2022 Cumulus Conference on the theme of in Nov. 2022 to deepen our community鈥檚 understanding of the current design research into this topic. The Conference will explore the role designers play in fostering adaptation to climate change across three tracks: Climate Citizens, Climate Eco-systems, and Climate Apartheid.聽

While many people focus on the opportunity for technology and science to mitigate climate impacts, artists and designers have an important role to play. Artists help people connect and relate to these important issues through their works of art, increasing awareness and concern. They tell stories that help people understand the severity of the crisis. As an example, 黑料专区鈥檚 recent diverted dying trees from mulching to cultural artifacts advancing climate themes and social justice.

Designers translate new technologies and scientific discoveries into tools, products, services, and systems that people can use in their everyday lives to make a difference. At 黑料专区, our students and faculty are exploring new materials, new ways of working, new communication methods and other innovations that can help reduce our carbon footprint.

While Earth Day may be an annual celebration, at 黑料专区 we are actively unlocking creative talents to make a lasting impact for our planet all year round. This is part of what we think it means to be a creative changemaker for the future.

NOTE: Among the initiatives being undertaken鈥�

• Student sustainability group
• BFA Illustration and BFA Art Practice have banned the use of harmful solvents
• BFA Illustration exploring ways to deal with acrylic paint without pouring it down the drain
• BFA Transportation design students learning about design for disassembly
• BFA Fashion students working with reclaimed materials (see )
• BFA Product Design students exploring repair and reuse; Daniel Heilbron looking into sustainable tourism
• BFA Interiors students learning about LEED requirements
• Graduate Color and Materials Design students entering the Bio-Design challenge for the third year running, having won twice in 2020 and 2021; designing (The Blot Project), using climate themes in their thesis projects (, Jasmine Brown); new materials using broken glass collected from the street ()
• Graduate Transportation Design students using climate themes in their thesis projects (mass mobility system; dystopian futures)
• diverted dying trees from mulching to cultural artifacts advancing climate themes and social justice.
• Ian Lambert working with the Urban Wood Network and other partners on a new studio class.