Design+Impact: Design's Value in the Future

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A promotional graphic for an event titled 'Design Impact.' The design features a gradient background transitioning from dark purple to a soft, glowing cream tone. The words 'DESIGN Impact' are displayed in large, bold green and script white fonts in the upper left corner. The date '04/08' is positioned in the upper right, and the phrase 'DESIGN'S CURRENT ROLE AND FUTURE VALUE' is placed in the lower right. A small multicolored abstract logo appears in the bottom left corner.

Join the Center for Integrated Design as it hosts the 2025 seminar: "Design+Impact: Design's Value in the Future."

Design+Impact brings together a diverse mix of students, designers, design educators, and professionals from various industries to explore what thought leaders in design consider valuable for the future of the field and how design can drive value in other sectors. The evening will kick-off with a social hour and will be followed by a panel discussion with experts from design education, the design industry, and non-designers in the industry who hire designers, followed by breakout workshops led by each panelist to facilitate deeper discussions and ideation on preparing for the future of design.

Featured Guests

Rebeccah Pailes

Pailes is the founder and principal of Interwoven Design Group, a pioneering studio specializing in soft goods, wearable technology, and apparel innovation, with collaborations spanning Shark/Ninja, HeroWear, NASA, and Vanderbilt University. With over 20 years of corporate design experience at Fila, Champion, and Nike, she brings a deep understanding of the intersection of fashion, material science, and engineering. A Professor of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute for over 25 years, she leads courses in wearable technology and mobility while mentoring Master’s thesis students. An IDSA Fellow and Northeast representative for the IDSA Women in Design Committee, she advocates for diversity and inclusivity in design. As the author of Smart Textiles for Designers: Inventing the Future of Fabrics and a sought-after speaker, she continues to shape the future of design through both professional practice and academic leadership. Under her guidance, Interwoven has earned accolades including the 2024 Fast Company Innovation by Design Award and recognition from Core77.

Doug Powell

Powell is an award-winning designer with more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of design disciplines. A recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Sam Fox School of Design at Washington University in St. Louis, and the 2014 Fellow Award from AIGA Minnesota, Doug is a lecturer, commentator and thought leader on design issues. He has presented at a variety of global conferences, forums, and universities including Beirut Design Week in Lebanon, Fortune's Brainstorm Design in Singapore, and Yale School of Management. He was on the jury of the 2018 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards. Between 2011-2013 Doug served as the national president of AIGA, the professional association for design, the largest and most established design organization in the world.

In the past decade Doug has served as Vice President of Design at IBM and Expedia Group, where he oversaw design practices, design systems, designer career and leadership programs, as well as the scaling of cross-functional design thinking practices across the companies. He is the producer and host of This Is A Prototype: The Design Leadership Podcast.

Jared Culp

Culp is a design leader specializing in user experience and digital transformation. As a Lead Product Designer at Netflix, he drives the development of innovative ad formats, collaborating with research, product, and engineering teams. Previously, he was an Associate Design Director at McKinsey & Co., leading design teams across industries including agriculture and finance. His experience includes roles at Frog Design, Phunware, and Intentional Futures, working with clients like Nike and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A former adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Jared holds a Master’s in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Howard University.

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Event Details

Scheduled
to
ART Building, Room 1.102
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Event Types
Design Center for Integrated Design

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