The students, faculty, staff, and researchers in the Design Studies department at UW–Madison study the production, process, and impact of design. Through scholarship, analysis, curriculum, and outreach, we advocate design as an encompassing discipline central to every aspect of life. We emphasize and promote a multi-disciplinary, global approach to design, and we value connections, nationally and internationally, with other campus, community, and professional programs.
Design Studies faculty include interdisciplinary scholars associated with the arts and humanities, the social sciences, and the physical sciences. While the backgrounds and scholarship areas of the faculty are diverse, we are tied together by an interest in the relationships between humans and the objects and environments that they design and use.
We also boast within the School of Human Ecology the Center for Design and Material Culture, which is home to two galleries, one of the largest university-held textile collections in the world, material culture studies, and the school’s design thinking initiative. Center leadership includes executive director Dr. Sarah Anne Carter and faculty directors Dr. Yuhang Li (material culture), Dr. Marina Moskowitz (textiles), and Dr. Jung-hye Shin (design thinking).
Department Chair
Affiliated Centers & Labs
Areas of Specialization
Human-centered design
- Design impact on health and wellbeing (or design evaluation)
- Design for special population (aging, poverty, children)
Design Innovation
- Design Strategy
- Design Thinking
Technology
- Virtual Reality
- Emerging Technology
- Smart Building System
- Material innovations
Sustainable Design Materials and Practices
- Materials
- Building systems
Creative Practice
- Papermaking
- Textile Design
- Fashion Design
- Weaving
Historical and Cultural Studies
- Material Culture
- Design History
- Museum Studies
- Cultural and regional studies
Visualization
- Design Visualization
- Visual Communication
- Data Visualization
Design Studies News & Research
Design Studies Faculty and Staff
-
Jennifer AngusProfessor of Design Studies | Kay Vaughan Faculty Fellow of Design + Innovation
-
Sarah Anne CarterAssociate Professor of Design Studies | Executive Director of the Center for Design and Material Culture
-
Mark ClaiborneDigital Fabrication Laboratory Manager
-
Samuel DennisSenior Academic Faculty and Administrator
-
Coe DouglasCreative Lead for the Master of Science in Design + Innovation
-
Marianne FairbanksAudrey Rothermel Bascom Professor | Associate Professor of Design Studies | Kohl’s Center Innovation Faculty Fellow
-
Mitch FrankTeaching Faculty, Design Studies
-
Brooke GodfreyTeaching Faculty, Design Studies
-
Erin HamiltonAssistant Professor of Design Studies
-
Mary HarkProfessor of Design Studies
-
Elizabeth Hooper-LaneTeaching Faculty, Design Studies
-
Esther KangAssistant Professor of Design Studies
-
Anika KozlowskiAssistant Professor of Design Studies
-
Marina MoskowitzLynn and Gary Mecklenburg Chair in Textiles, Material Culture & Design | Professor of Design Studies
-
Kevin PontoAudrey Rothermel Bascom Professor | Professor of Design Studies
-
Lesley SagerTeaching Faculty Emerit
-
Jung-hye - leave of absence after spring 2025 ShinDepartment Chair and Professor of Design Studies | Faculty Director of the Design Thinking Program | Interior Architecture Program Coordinator
-
Monika ThadhaniTeaching Professor, Design Studies
-
Uchita VaidAssistant Professor of Design Studies
-
Trudy WattAcademic Director for the Master of Science in Design + Innovation
-
Mengni ZhangAssistant Professor of Design Studies
-
Yaoyi ZhouAssistant Professor of Design Studies