What's Happening in Industrial Design 2024

Industrial Design “Sketching” Workshop with Visiting Designer Seth Keller, 2024. Photo by Benita Nnachortam (Photography 2025)

The Industrial Design department at Cranbrook Academy of Art bridges the worlds of industrial design, fine design, and craft. Here, we explore the furniture and objects that shape our daily lives, diving deep into how the objects are used. Through a dynamic process of questioning, making, and critical discussion, you’ll cultivate a broad framework for evaluating design. The program is ideal for designers seeking to expand their architectural and spatial awareness – this is a space where big ideas can take form and redefine the way we live.

Works by Shu Wang (3D Design 2025). From left to right: Musician Chair, Table Objects, Meowtain.

Visiting Designers

Jack Craig (right) at Cranbrook Academy of Art
in 2024. Photo by Benita Nnachortam (Photography 2025)

This year’s guests include a range of accomplished designers from the field of Fine and Industrial Design. 2023 – 24 had over a dozen guests, both in-person and virtual. As usual, the roster of guests seeks to expose students to many models of practice to inform their own career paths. 

A selection of these include: 

• Nur Saltik– Founder of an international design collective known as Form & Seek. Nur is a curator of design exhibitions of young designers in the US and Europe. She also heads the Product Design program at nearby Lawrence Tech University while running her own studio practice focused on experimental techniques in production. 

• John Edelman – Former owner of Design Within Reach and current owner of Heller Furniture, John shared his deep expertise in the business of design. His visit included a lecture and time in the studios with each student. 

• Aspen Golan –  Designer / Woodworker / Educator was co-hosted with the Metals program for a 3-day workshop focused on broom-making skills.

• Jack Craig – A 2012 3D Design alum hosted us for a gallery talk about his fine design solo show called ‘Anteroom’ at the David Klein Gallery, hosted us for a visit to his Detroit studio (an industrial building he renovated himself) and one-on-one studio visits with students the following day. 

• Brian Graham –  Graham delivered our annual Knoll Lecture in Design. He is a San Francisco-based designer with a wide body of work in the contract furniture world. He shared his insights specifically about design for the workplace and healthcare environments.

• Jomo Tariku – In December we will host designer Jomo Tariku, known for his exquisite furniture designs inspired by African themes.

Industrial Design students at work in the studios. Left photo by Benita Nnachortam (Photography 2025).

Exhibitions

In November, we hosted an independent exhibition called ‘Ideal Home’ in Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Forum Gallery (student-run).

We are committed to promoting our students’ work within the wider profession. In May of 2023, our entire group exhibited work in NYC at the ICFF/Wanted show, the best venue for contemporary furniture in the US. The show entitled ‘Materialized’ emphasized innovation with materials and processes for furniture and lighting. 

Find an archive of featured Cranbrook Industrial Design exhibits and examples of student and alumni work here. 

Left: Miles Gracy (3D Design 2025), al dente. Right: Yuyu Chen (3D Design 2024), Totoro.

Works by Kim Swift (MFA 3D Design 2024). Left: The Cheese Clock (detail). Right: Turnable Tuffets.

Travel

Through the program, our students visit some of the top manufacturing centers throughout Michigan to tour their facilities and talk with company design leaders. They also visit with accomplished Academy alumni, many who have chosen to stay in the area to launch their own studio practices.

In Spring 2023, our group flew to Milan, Italy, for the annual Salone de Mobile for five days. This trip allowed students wide access to events and exhibitions across the city that represent the cutting-edge of international design culture.

We also spent time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, visiting some of the most important factories that support the furniture industry. This year’s visit included Davidson Plyform, who makes plywood parts for Herman Miller, and Moiron, who makes metal parts for the furniture world, including the robotic bending of tube parts.

Industrial Design department trip to Milan, Salone del Mobile.

Alumni

Dezeen recently published a feature exploring the design scene in various American cities, including Detroit. Notably, six out of the ten designers highlighted in the article were alumni of Cranbrook’s Industrial Design department.

The accomplishments of our Industrial Design alums are too numerous to list here. For a full view of recent department Alumni news, please visit here.

Leadership Updates

This year marks a significant change in leadership for the Academy’s Industrial Design department. Scott Klinker has led the department for 24 years, and this past summer, he announced that the 2024-2025 school year would be his final year of teaching at Cranbrook. In his next chapter, Klinker intends to focus full-time on his industrial design practice and finish a book outlining his 24 years of research at Cranbrook.

• The Academy is currently conducting an international search for a new faculty position.
• Klinker will oversee application review in spring and is available to answer questions about the department.
• Applicants for Industrial Design will receive an update about the appointment in time to make critical decisions during the acceptance period.

This year, Industrial Design welcomed Ayako Aratani as the new studio manager. Aratani is an alumna of Industrial Design (formally called 3D Design) from 2016 with an accomplished background in both Fine and Industrial Design. She brings her studio practice to the department and works alongside the faculty to oversee departmental operations, planning, and mentoring. Ayako has a 2-year appointment and plans to stay on throughout the 2025-2026 academic year.

With these changes, the Academy is taking this moment to realign the design disciplines under a larger department name of ‘Architecture and Design’ with the goal of supporting more interdisciplinary exchange between our students in Industrial Design, Interaction Design (formally 4D Design), and Architecture. This shift will allow for new opportunities to share space and resources while providing wider access to mentorship with a larger set of peers and faculty. This shift is part of the Academy’s ongoing experimentation to test new formats in education that fit with our students’ interdisciplinary interests.

See more work and behind-the-scenes of Cranbrook Industrial Design on our department Instagram.

The deadline to apply for Fall 2025 entry is February 1, 2025. Have questions about Cranbrook Industrial Design? Email CAAadmissions@cranbrook.edu.