Samples of different Design projects

Welcome to the Department of Design

Design Programs

Woman pointing at 3D art installation of California wildfire ash.

Professor San Fratello has been awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts: Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Grant for her “SmokeScreen” project and a ONEder grant to further her research around 3D printing objects with wildfire ash and buildings with earthen materials.

professor leila

Professor Ensaniat has been awarded the Golden A’ Design Award in the 3D Printed Forms and Products Design category for her innovative project Pulse. Her work was showcased at the A’ Winner Designs 2024–2025 Exhibition at the MOOD Museum of Design in Como, Italy (July 17–22), and is also featured in the official A’ Design Award yearbook. In addition, Pulse has been highlighted in both designnewsroom.com and designnewswire.com, further amplifying its international recognition. Pulse is a sleek, floating pen inspired by the elegance and simplicity of drifting clouds. Designed to reimagine an everyday object that has remained largely unchanged, the piece unites refined aesthetics with practical functionality. Through explorations of metal finishing techniques applied to generative, nature-inspired patterns, Ensaniat developed biomorphic forms that enrich both the visual and tactile qualities of the instrument.

Illustration of Santa Cruz Del Mar movie theater.

Congratulations to adjunct Animation/Illustration faculty Chris Zollna, whose work has been juried into the prestigious SILA Illustration West 64 competition. Three of Zollna's pieces in the "Unpublished & Self-Promotional" category were accepted into the exhibition: Del Mar Theater, The Birds, and Henry Cowell State Park. These works were selected from over 1,300 entries submitted by artists from 35 countries.