Cranbrook 3D Design Alumni Featured in Dezeen's Look at Detroit's Design Scene
Multiple Cranbrook 3D Design alumni are included in Dezeen’s Detroit installment of their 2024 series on North American Design. The included designers are Evan Fay (MFA 3D Design 2016), Nicholas Tilma (MFA 3D Design 2023), Chris Schanck (MFA 3D Design 2011), Simon Anton (MFA 3D Design 2020) of Thing Thing, Ayako Aratani (MFA 3D Design 2016), and current Head of 3D Design and Designer-in-Residence, Scott Klinker (MFA Design 1996). These designers represent a range of processes and interests.
Director of Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Academy of Art alumnus, Andrew Satake Blauvelt (MFA Design 1988) described Detroit’s unique historical and contemporary design culture based in both commercial automotive production and a strong handcrafted tradition. “That’s how you get a place like Cranbrook. Both methods coexist here, both historically and contemporaneously. Detroit seems more ‘both-and’ rather than ‘either-or’. Today, there is a lively and very creative design culture in Detroit. It seems to be fed more by an artisanal approach to making – limited editions, much of it made by hand.”
Detroit’s strong design influence is recognized by its status as a UNESCO City of Design – the first city in the United States to be given the distinction, joining locations such as Asahikawa, Japan, and Turin, Italy.
Nicholas Tilma
Ayako Aratani
Scott Klinker
Learn more:
Ten Studios Leading Detroit’s Design Scenes in 2024 – Dezeen
