MDes students design, research, learn, and teach closely with design faculty.
Faculty
One of the unique qualities of the UW MDes program is its relatively small size, which allows students to work closely with design faculty who have expertise in visual communication design, interaction design and industrial design. See the faculty directory here. →
Our faculty have expertise in:
- typography
- information visualization
- publication design
- exhibition design
- medical design
- sustainable design
- virtual and augmented reality
- speculative design
- Internet of Things
- design history
- design ethics
- entrepreneurship
- materials and fabrication
- soft goods
- design research
Professor, VCD →
Annabelle Gould
Typography, Visual Communication Design
Associate Professor, IxD →
Audrey Desjardins
Interaction Design, Design Research, Research-through-Design, Critical and Speculative Design, Design methods
Chair, Division of Design →
Axel Roesler
Industrial Design, Interaction Design, New Media
Assistant Professor, VCD
Chad Hall
Information Design, Interface Design, Data Visualization
Teaching Professor →
Dominic Muren
Biological Art, Design History, Industrial Design, Social Practice, Sustainability
Associate Professor + Chair, ixd →
James Pierce
Critical Theory, Digital Arts, Digital Fabrication, Human-Computer Interaction, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Social Practice, Sustainability, User Experience Design
Associate Professor + Chair, ID →
Jason O. Germany
Digital Fabrication, Industrial Design
Professor, VCD →
Karen Cheng
Visual Communication Design
Professor + Chair, vcd →
Kristine Matthews
Information Design, Sustainability, Visual Communication Design, Exhibition Design
Assistant Professor, ID →
Meichun Liu
Industrial Design
Professor, ID →
Sang-gyeun Ahn
Industrial Design
Taylor Miles Hopkins (MDes 2021) with thesis committee members Jayme Yen and Audrey Desjardins.
Samer Fouad (MDes 2020) and faculty Kristine Matthews.
Members of the MDes 2019 cohort, at an impromptu cooking session.
Coreen Callister (MDes 2019) for the 2019 design show.
Faculty Karen Cheng, Annabelle Gould and Jason O. Germany.
At the annual poster show, 2nd year MDes students present their thesis work-in-progress.
Inspiring cross-pollination happens between MDes students who enter the program with a range of skills, expertise and interests to share.
Students
MDes students enter the program already with an understanding of design as a profession and practical skills in design. During their time at the University of Washington, they often explore new facets of design and dive deeper into a specific area of interest. See the MDes student directory here. →
MDes 2024 →
Ann Mathew
Data Visualization, Human-computer Interaction, Information Design, Interaction Design, User Experience Design
MDes 2024 →
Chuanzhe Xiong
Design, Social Practice, Visual Arts, Branding
MDes 2025 →
Iris Bae
Data Visualization, Human-computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Sound Art, Virtual and Augmented Reality
MDes 2024 →
Kristiaan Brauer
3D Modeling, Digital Fabrication, Industrial Design, AI, Assisted Design
MDes 2026 →
Li-Yuan Chiou
Human-AI Interaction, Speculative Design, Industrial Design
MDes 2025 →
Lisa Bambach
Experiential Design, Design Strategy, Design Education, Visual Communication Design
MDes 2024 →
Maya Anne Kaneko
Comparative Studies, Digital Humanities, Interaction Design, Material Culture, User Experience Design
MDes 2027 →
McKinley Smith
Digital Fabrication, Speculative Design, Industrial Design, Set Design
MDes 2024 →
Min Jung Koo
3D Modeling, Data Visualization, Interaction Design, Visual Culture
MDes 2025 →
Quan Zhou
User experience design, human-computer interaction, and interaction design
MDes 2024 →
Wyatt Olson
Avant-garde, Design, Human-computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Interactive Art, Photography, Publication Design, Typography
MDes 2025 →
Xiaohan Liao
Artificial Intelligence, Data Visualization, Visual Communication Design
