© Steven A. Heller/ArtCenter College of Design (Pasadena, Calif).

The Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) invites the community to celebrate and reflect on Haring’s impact on the College and world at large on Monday, December 2, from 11 am – 2 pm, in the lobby outside the library, where the paint can will be making its on-campus debut. 

Thirty years ago, prolific artist and social activist Keith Haring visited ArtCenter and, over the course of two days, painted the mural that graces the stairwell across from the library on our Hillside Campus. Intended serve as a “permanent memorial to members of the art community who have died of AIDS and as a symbol of hope and compassion,” the mural was completed as part of the first-ever Day Without Art, held in conjunction with the second annual World AIDS Day (then called AIDS Awareness Day). Haring’s mural also serves as a memorial tribute to the artist himself, who passed away two months later from AIDS-related complications.

We celebrate Haring, his memory and his contributions both to ArtCenter and the world at large every December 1 and, over the years, we have learned more about him and his visit to our Campus. In 2013, we sent out a call to our community to search for lost video footage of his visit and we were rewarded in 2015 when, following a tip, we tracked down Photography alum Hadi Salehi, who had recently digitized his Super8 video of Haring painting at ArtCenter. An edited version of the video is currently playing on the College monitors, leading up to World AIDS Day this December 1.

Haring’s mural served as inspiration for OUTSIDE/IN: The Ascendance of Street Art in Visual Culture, a group exhibition that spanned both campuses and resulted in two new murals on our South Campus, RISK’s color explosion that covers the north wall of the Graduate Art Complex and the unmistakably Kenny Scharf mural that adorns the elevator shaft atop the 950 building. Providing another connection, Scharf and Haring were lifelong friends, having met in New York when they were both art students.

Haring’s visit to the College was covered by the Los Angeles Times and noted in the New York Times. People who were there remember watching him paint as an experience of a lifetime.

One of those people was then student Doug Aitken, now a renowned artist in his own right whose multimedia work challenges and experiments with how art relates with the viewer—sharing with street artists the concept of bringing art to the people.

An alum (BFA 91), Aitken was recently honored by the College when he was chosen as this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. At the Alumni Awards dinner, Aitken reflected on how, as a student, he was asked to assist artist and activist Keith Haring while he painted a mural at the College. “As a parting gift, Keith gave Doug his leftover paint cans—one of which Doug’s mother recently found in their garage. Doug, in turn, gave the paint can back to ArtCenter during the celebration,” relates Marketing and Communications’ Jered Gold, who adds that the College is exploring ways to display the paint can near the mural itself.

Haring’s mural is part of our daily lives—it is one of the most memorable spaces on campus, it is fondly remembered by alumni, it’s a meeting place, an Instagram backdrop and a reminder of the power of art. It’s by any measure one of the College’s treasures.

Gloria Kondrup, Ini Archibong, Doug Aitken and Sterling Ruby enjoying the moment. Photo: Owen Kolasinki/BFA.com

ArtCenter College of Design celebrated its 2019 Alumni Awards on Saturday, November 16 in Downtown Los Angeles, bringing together prominent members of the Southern Californian and international art and design communities to recognize awardees Doug Aitken (BFA 91), Ini Archibong (BS 12), Gloria Kondrup (MFA 93) and Sterling Ruby (MFA 15). Beginning the evening at Oculus Hall at The Broad, guests were welcomed by ArtCenter President Lorne M. Buchman, who spoke of the unique event and how it touched on a variety of visionary leaders bringing connection between the fields of art and design.

Relating the idea of teaching courage as part of the core curriculum, President Buchman recognized the 2019 awardees for their contributions, and for their bold and challenging work. “On a personal note, I’m feeling incredibly inspired by our award recipients,” said Buchman. “You honor us with your creativity and passion, your thoughtfulness and success.”

Image courtesy Dillon Chi

Interaction Design and DesignMatters student, Dillon Chi organized a group of ArtCenter students to attend SDHacks 2019, one of the largest hackathons in California, for an intense 36-hours in San Diego. He reflected on the experience.

I started a club at school with the purpose of assembling transdisciplinary teams of designers and artists to attend hackathons. Late October, two teams from ArtCenter went to SDHacks 2019 along with 800+ other students from all over Southern California. This three-day trip was almost completely paid for by my SLED grant and the club stipend provided by the Center for the Student Experience. We were able to hack away in an Airbnb close by, which gave us the wall space needed to put up a couple of hundred Post-It notes and conduct remote testing. Both teams from ArtCenter placed in the ActivBody Challenge, taking two of the hackathon’s 15 awards. Each member of both teams received an educational grant and an offer to intern at ActivBody.

As interaction designers at ArtCenter, we are taught to use multi-step research exercises along with the iterative process to create a great system. Steps that include lean canvas, affinity diagramming, competitive research, posture analysis, blob scenarios, and user journeys. The challenge at the hackathon was how to condense your 14-week class plan into something that you can execute in 36 hours with your three teammates?

This is some of what we learned:

• Three first-term students, who had just completed their first 7-week abbreviated project in groups for IxD 101, came with us. Going in I was a little hesitant about what they could accomplish. I was wrong and when crunch time hit they were phenomenal. Their insights helped shape the work we produced. I learned as a group leader to allow my team to run with it instead of holding in the reigns.
• Both teams took a risk and decided that it would be better to thoroughly research the topic and design the solution instead of jumping straight in and they ended up devoting 80% of our allotted time to these aspects of the challenge.
• One student led a group for the first time and the 36 hours helped her develop as a leader and allowed her to voice her opinions in a way she hadn’t in 14-week long group projects she had before. She will be doing so from now on in her groups at ArtCenter.
• Another student remarked that it was an empowering experience to understand that the process that we are taught at ArtCenter is mutable and bendable to the constraints of the brief.

Through the SLED Grant and the club stipend, I was able to make this experience cost just 15 dollars each for all participants. I know this was a factor in their participation and I encourage ArtCenter to play an active role in sponsoring experiences such as this in the future.

It is my goal during my time here and after to create or share experiences that people can learn and grow from.

—Dillon Chi

Photo: Juan Posada

Maria Martinez has worked for Sodexo at ArtCenter for 13 years as a cashier, barista and grill cook. Marketing and Communications staff member Jered Gold says, “Like much of the Sodexo team, Maria is one of those people who doesn’t always get the recognition she deserves. She’s been making coffee, serving food and ringing up my purchases since I started working here. I don’t get to see her as often since we’re at different campuses, but every time I do, she brightens my day.”

ArtCenter News: What’s your favorite part of your job?

Maria Martinez: Talking with customers.

AN: What is your favorite place on campus?

MM: The Sculpture Garden.

AN: What do you do when you’re not at work?

MM: I enjoy spending time at home resting and being with my family

It takes a lot of people to run a College—faculty to teach classes, administrative staff who handle everything from admitting and enrolling students to maintaining facilities and paying the bills and academic department staff who juggle classroom schedules, faculty needs and student requests. We employ shop technicians, projectionists, accountants, writers, fundraisers and librarians. We also rely on other organizations to provide us with security personnel, shuttle drivers, food services and our student store. Everyone who works here contributes to the success of the College, whether they are officially employed by ArtCenter or by someone else. Everyone is a valued member of our community. The Staff Spotlight series provides a brief introduction to a few of them.

Image courtesy Anya Radzevych

Continuing our series on Summer internships, we checked in with Entertainment design student Anya Radzevych, who interned with Royal Caribbean Cruises at their Innovation Lab in Miami, Florida. Known for driving innovation in the cruise industry, Royal Caribbean is known for a number of firsts, such as rock climbing, ice skating and surfing at sea. Anya was the first intern and the first woman to join the Innovation Lab team full time. Graduating this term, she has accepted an offer from Royal Caribbean for a position as an Experience Designer at the Innovation Lab.

Alum Josh Nakaya, who serves as creative director and lead designer on all Innovation Lab projects, will be on campus on Thursday for an info session at 1 p.m. in Conference Room B at Hillside.

Campus News: How did you get your internship?

Anya Radzevych: I applied for the internship through the ArtCenter career website straight after Josh’s visit to one of the Product Design classes I was taking. I was very compelled by the projects that are in the works at the Innovation Lab. And as an Entertainment Design student with a strong interest in industrial design and prototyping, I thought I might be a good fit.

CN: Can you tell us a little about your internship experience?

AR: Over the three months of my internship, I truly felt what it means to be a hybrid designer. I could work on an entertainment concept one day, a food and beverage project the next and logistics process improvements the day after that, a physical product, a digital one, or a blend of both.

The highlight of my internship was a research trip on a cruise ship! With one day notice (seasoned designers at Royal Caribbean literally keep a packed suitcase in the office), I joined a research team to conduct interviews with the travelers and get first-hand insights on the experience and identify the future opportunities for the Innovation Lab.

I got to the St. Thomas Island at sunset and had a whole evening to explore, swim in the pristine clean ocean and eat the local food. This mini-vacation got me ready for the intense next couple of days on the ship.

The next morning, I embarked on the largest cruise ship in the world – Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas. The ship looks and feels like a city neighborhood with restaurants, bars, water slides, a massive hotel and a park (with real trees and occasional birds that join the cruise during the visits to the islands). It can, and always does host 6,000 people, cruises on the Symphony are always fully booked. My goal was to talk to as many of them as possible. By the end of the trip, our team surveyed 320 people and was ready to present the results back at the Miami HQ.

CN: What is the Innovation Lab like?

AR: I worked at the Innovation Lab building in Miami. This space is unique. The campus, in the shape of the signature Royal Caribbean crown, is located on the island, surrounded by the ocean with iguanas sunbathing at the open-air cafes. Innovation Lab has a VR cave, huge spaces to demonstrate and test full-size prototypes of the innovative experiences, a whole library of digital devices for any sort of modeling and designing works and a bunch of VR rigs and games for a lunchtime break.

The campus is currently undergoing a massive transformation. The result will be a state-of-the-art system of campuses with futuristic architecture, large open areas and a lot of glass to take in a breathtaking view of Miami.

CN: How does this internship fit in the grand scheme of the career path that you want to craft for yourself?

AR: I’m graduating from Entertainment Design this term. I work on entertainment and industrial design projects, on a small and large scale. From packaging design and household items to interior designs and environments for video games.

I’m always taking opportunities to work on future scenarios and innovation. In my career (that is just starting), I was very fortunate to design the future of the third-place at Starbucks, envision the future of play for Adidas, design the future workspace at Haworth, and, most recently, imagine the future of travel at Royal Caribbean.

I was very happy to accept the offer from Royal Caribbean and I’m very much looking forward to starting working straight after graduation. Eventually, I would like to apply the knowledge and skills from this first job to a broader spectrum of design for themed environments.

“We are always pleased to hear a student is the first ArtCenter intern at a company,” says Amanda Webb, director of ArtCenter’s Career and Professional Development Department (CPD), “and we’re excited that Royal Caribbean is back on campus to talk to students about their internship program.”

CPD supports students interested in interning by offering resources, best practices information and tools to ensure they take full advantage of their internship opportunities wherever they are found—through ArtCenter Connect, networking, approaching a company directly, or LinkedIn. Although the office provides resources to help all students throughout their internship experience, if a student wants to receive academic credit, they must register their internship with CPD by Week 1 of their internship term. For more information about internships and how to get one, stop in at the Career and Professional Development (CPD) office or visit artcentercpd.com/internships.

Javier Palomares makes a point while teaching Materials and Methods. Photo by Juan Posada.

At ArtCenter, most of our more than 400 faculty are working professionals—artists, photographers, painters, filmmakers and designers of every discipline—directly engaged with the demands of today’s creative marketplace and bring their knowledge and fresh approaches into the studio. Faculty shape the intellectual life of our community and often build relationships with students that last beyond the classroom.

This Fall, ArtCenter News introduces you to a few of the unique and talented individuals teaching our students.

Originally from Colombia, Javier Palomares has a degree in Industrial Design from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and graduated with honors from ArtCenter in 2003 with a degree in Product Design. Today, as founder of design firm Curve Ahead, a design firm specializing in the full range of capabilities that develops ideas into innovative solutions for consumer products and furniture, his designs have been displayed at the High Point Market, Bernhardt Design at ICFF, Javits Center, and the Dwell in Design show, Los Angeles. He also teaches at ArtCenter.

ArtCenter News: How has working at ArtCenter changed you (or how have your students changed your work)?

Javier Palomares: ArtCenter is a great place to work. I am very grateful and fortunate to be surrounded by design in all its forms, at all times.

AN: Where do you go for inspiration?

JP: Two main factors inspire me in every design project. The first is nature, in which I find endless possibilities for new designs when studying and admiring the living form. The second is traveling, which has allowed me to explore fascinating new places and cultures and learn about the way they see and go through everyday life.

AN: What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

JP: I always keep a sketchbook and pen nearby, as well as a good cup of coffee.

AN: How do you define success?

JP:  Success is difficult to define, but to me, it is finding the perfect balance between being happy doing the work that you do and making the people you love happy as well.

Photo by Juan Posada

Continuing our series on Summer internships, we checked in with Product student Zoe Xiong, who interned at TOMS this past summer. Headquartered in Los Angeles, TOMS, the name derived from the words “Tomorrow’s Shoe,” was founded in 2006 with the promise of delivering one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes sold. The company has since launched other products including eyewear, coffee, bags and backpacks. Zoe was TOMS’ first ArtCenter intern.

ArtCenter News: Can you tell us a little about TOMS and its internship program?

Zoe Xiong: TOMS’ mission is to be in business to improve lives by giving back to people and the community. The company is still small so when you’re an intern here you have the advantage of learning about all aspects of the business, such as marketing, merchandising and branding.

AN: How did you get your internship?

ZX: I found the internship through Linkedin, which is a great resource for someone looking for internship opportunities. I was selected because of the strength of my student projects—they demonstrated that I had the skills, developed over my first five terms at ArtCenter, needed to get the job done.

AN: How does this internship fit in the grand scheme of the career path that you want to craft for yourself?

ZX: My goal is to become a well-rounded soft goods and wearables designer. I’ve only had one internship before this which was in the performance sportswear field. To balance that out I decided to come here to TOMS which is more focused on go-to-market products and designs.

“We are always pleased to hear a student is the first ArtCenter intern at a company,” says Amanda Webb, director of ArtCenter’s Career and Professional Development Department (CPD), “and we’re excited about our new partnership with TOMS.”

CPD supports students interested in interning by offering resources, best practices information and tools to ensure they take full advantage of their internship opportunities wherever they are found—through ArtCenter Connect, networking, approaching a company directly, or, as in this case, LinkedIn. Although the office provides resources to help all students throughout their internship experience, if a student wants to receive academic credit, they must register their internship with CPD by Week 1 of their internship term. For more information about internships and how to get one, stop in at the Career and Professional Development (CPD) office or visit artcentercpd.com/internships.

Photos by Juan Posada

Our Graduate Media Design Practices (MDP) program asks students to investigate emerging technologies, develop new methodologies and apply design to global social issues. For the past 13 years, the program has been led, shaped and directed by freshly-minted PhD, Dr. Anne Burdick. Our Undergraduate Interaction Design (IxD) program, chaired by user experience pioneer Maggie Hendrie, has a similar focus—using cutting edge technology with a focus on the user experience to design cohesive systems that can deeply impact people’s lives. When Burdick informed the College that she was going to shift career focus and step down as MDP chair, Provost Karen Hofmann saw an opportunity to align these two programs and tapped Maggie Hendrie to lead them both as chair of IxD and MDP.

“The two programs already have a shared community of practice, including alumni, faculty, creative and industry relationships, as well as shared use of materials, labs and makerspaces. Aligning the two allows ArtCenter to create new student pathways and expertise in emerging areas of creative technology. Both programs are committed to engagement with diverse social, cultural and technological contexts,” explained Hofmann, who consulted with faculty, students, staff and alumni of the program as well as executive and educational leadership to better understand the needs of the department.

Burdick has decided to pursue a new career path as a designer, educator, critic and researcher and will be dividing her time between Los Angeles and Sydney. She will have a dual affiliation with ArtCenter as an Adjunct Professor and with the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney as a Research Professor.

In announcing the change in leadership, Hofmann noted, “during her tenure as Chair, Anne served ArtCenter in tremendous ways as an educational leader – she was one of the first co-chairs of the Chairs Council, helped the College define shared governance, spearheaded visioning processes and served on numerous committees focusing on advancing design education, research and technologies at ArtCenter. We are grateful for Anne’s service to the College and for defining and leading one of the most compelling and unique graduate design programs in the country.”

Reflecting on her tenure leading the MDP program, Burdick said,“It’s been a privilege to lead a risk-taking department at ArtCenter during a time of expansion and invention. When I started we were tucked into a corner on the Hillside Campus. In the last decade, we have doubled in size, turned the Wind Tunnel into a maker space, studio and cultural venue, all while developing a world-class experimental design MFA. Our projects have brought us from the Silicon Valley to Kampala, Uganda. What a wild ride! I couldn’t be prouder of the faculty team, our amazing graduates and all that we have accomplished together.”

Hendrie, who was hired in 2012 to develop the Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design, has been instrumental in developing interaction for automotive practice and curriculum as well. As chair, she helped organize the Data to Discovery symposium and ongoing programs with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, bringing computer science and design students together with researchers and engineers to develop interactive visualization tools.

She is a user experience pioneer with more than 20 years of experience in new interactive product/service strategy, digital product design, project management, user-centered design, and usability and user experience testing. In 2004, she founded Sony Pictures Entertainment’s User Experience Competency Center and, as director, was responsible for working with divisions worldwide to integrate usability, information architecture and interaction into Sony devices and cross-platform projects. Prior, she was creative director for user experience at Whittman-Hart/MarchFirst, director of client solutions at Caresoft, strategy director at Manifest Digital and senior user interface designer at CyberMedia.

She is also the principal of Maggie Hendrie Design, a cross-channel business and service solution firm providing mobile and web apps, social media campaigns and consumer-facing online tools for various companies, including venture capital investors, managements consultancies, autonomous automotive and multiple verticals. She received her MA in liberal arts from the University of Edinburgh, her MS in communication and information sciences from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University and her DEA in multimedia design and communication from the University of Paris VIII.

Hendrie offered the following perspective on moving forward in her new role: “Joining forces in undergraduate BS and graduate MFA programming allows ArtCenter to break new ground across the spectrum of emerging technologies; from human-centered professional applications to speculative, exploratory art and design. MDP has long been a model for innovative and experimental creative and academic practice and IxD has grown from a handful of students in our first cohort to nearly 100 students in the program today. Together they are successfully developing pathways for students in creative and professional practice, academia and research. Experimentation in research, design and practice influences new teaching models and student experiences. Together they demonstrate ArtCenter’s thought leadership in human-centered design, critical making and emerging professional practices.”

The College has benefitted greatly from Burdick’s leadership and we are thrilled she will continue to contribute to the education of our students. We are also incredibly fortunate to have another pioneering educational leader in-house who is perfectly suited to take on the challenge of following in her footsteps.

Photos and interviews by Juan Posada.

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Malcolm X

Orientation is a week defined by securing ID cards and parking passes, touring the campus, eating, listening, asking and observing. We spoke with some of the Fall 2019 entering class to find out what they are looking forward to now they have arrived. We also asked Orientation leaders for the best advice they have for the newbies. We’ve included six here—three incoming and three mentors. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram accounts for more images, impressions and advice, and contribute to the discussion with your own ArtCenter survival tips.

Clockwise, starting from the top left:

• Orientation leader Jordan Miller, 7th term Illustration: “Be sure to make time for yourself.”
• Incoming Film student RJ Deleon Vega: “Being able to learn from the best and having an outlet to express myself and be inspired by this great environment.”
• Orientation leader Debby Kang, 5th term Entertainment Design: “Be yourself, don’t worry about others.”
• Incoming Photography and Imaging student Alexis Pedroza: “Looking forward to becoming a photoshop wizard and learning to shoot street photography.”
• Orientation leader Taytym Blake, 4th term Photography and Imaging: “Just make school your number one priority.”
• Incoming Product Design student Rens Kierkels: “Looking forward to being with people from diverse countries who do things in different ways.”

Some of the best advice we’ve heard over the years: Get enough sleep. Get away from school occasionally. Don’t speed on Lida.

Transportation Design student Omar Gonzalez. Photo by Juan Posada

We recently visited with Transportation Design major Omar Gonzalez to find out about his internship at BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles. Bloomberg Businessweek describes BYD as “the No. 1 producer of plug-in vehicles globally, attracting a tiny fraction of the attention of Elon Musk’s company while powering, to a significant extent, a transition to electrified mobility that’s moving faster in China than in any other country.” Last year BYD sold more than 113,000 plug-in electric vehicles worldwide and currently has nearly 40,000 electric buses in service around the world.

ArtCenter News: What do you admire about BYD as a company?

Omar Gonzalez: Personally what I really admire from the automotive industry is innovation—allowing for a broad perspective of what the future could possibly be. Today the car industry is experiencing a huge and revolutionary change transitioning from gasoline to fully electric vehicles. As the world’s largest electric vehicle company, BYD motors is really helping to make this transition a reality.

What I really like about the company is that started in 1995 in China as an energy company focusing on batteries and expanded from there—in 2003, it entered the automotive industry and subsequently entered the LED and energy storage business and added PV solar panel production in 2008, and the rail transit industry in 2010-2011. I believe energy is one of the most important problems facing society and I totally respect companies that are into the future of energy efficiency.

AN: Can you tell your fellow students why they should consider taking the time to do an internship?

OG: I believe an internship is a very important experience that each student should strive for because working in the design studios allows you learn about the industry and experience the expectations of the working in a studio from the designers.

Furthermore, it helps you decide if that is what you want to do for the rest of your life. I believe it is a very important question that everyone has to ask themselves because in this small industry if you don’t love what you do, it is very hard to get real success and fulfillment. In other words, students should be very committed to becoming great designers by working on their skills as much as necessary to be the best.

“BYD is an attractive company for many of our students who are passionate about designing for the future and are looking for opportunities to develop clean energy and sustainable design solutions,” notes Amanda Webb, director of ArtCenter’s Career and Professional Development Department, “a number of students have had rewarding internships with BYD and we have alumni working at BYD locations worldwide.”

For more information about internships and how to get one, stop in at the Career and Professional Development (CPD) office or visit artcentercpd.com/internships.