An Inside Look at Design

July 6, 2017

This summer, Professor Abimbola Asojo (Interior Design) and Brian Kelley, director of the Young Builders and Designers Program, gave 25 students an inside look at the College of Design.

Made possible by a microgrant from the University, Asojo hosted Cultural Diversity and Design, an event designed to expose minority and underrepresented students to careers in the design fields. Asojo and her partners had three goals for the event:

  • To help participants understand and be exposed to the different career opportunities available in design programs at the College of Design.
  • To teach participants about the history of design as it relates to marginalized communities and about the contributions of minorities and underrepresented designers to the built environment.
  • To give participants the opportunity to collaborate with students, faculty, and design practitioners on a design project.
A group photo.

    In addition to their discussions about design, the students were also given the opportunity to experiment with their own design project. Using Legos, the students got to build a 3D replica of the American Society of Interior Design logo.

    “It was a very successful event,” concluded Asojo.

    For first year College of Design students, navigating the different design fields can be an intimidating prospect. But College of Design leadership hopes to change that with the introduction of the new topics course DES 1170: Introducing the College of Design.

    A collaboration between Professor Abimbola Asojo (Interior Design) and Professors Dolapo Amole and Babatunde Jaiyeoba of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in lle-lfe, Osun, Nigeria has culminated in the development of the first interior design program at a Nigerian university.