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- Industrial Design>
- Industrial Design, BID
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Become a professional designer for the 21st century, ready to tackle current momentous challenges. Whether as an industry professional or an entrepreneur, you’ll develop design solutions and strategies that innovate and improve life.
- Type
- Undergraduate, BID
- Credits
- 126
- Duration
- 4 Years
- Courses
- Plan of Study
- School and Department
- School of Design,
Industrial Design
Industrial Design at Pratt
Pratt Industrial Design students become designers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and corporate leaders — diversity fostered by a program that encourages exploration and professional growth. You’ll begin with grounding courses in drawing, color, 3-D form, model making, and digital computer skills, and design studios that introduce you to critical thinking, problem solving, and environmental responsibility. During junior and senior year, specialized studios focus on your individual areas of interest such as product design, furniture, tabletop, food design, athletic gear, or exhibition design.
Student Work
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Assembler Bench, Chan Sung Lee, BID, Industrial Design, 2019
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Pen for insulin injections, Julia Liverton, BID, Industrial Design, 2020
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Red Oak, Zilan Chen, BID, Industrial Design, 2019
The Experience
The design studio is at the core of your educational experience at Pratt. It is a creative space and a community in microcosm, from which we connect to the larger community. We believe education takes place in the studio and the classroom and that the work in the studio benefits the student’s growth equally. Working with tools and materials in the studio deepens knowledge of the opportunities inherent in form-making and design exploration.
Maker Spaces and Labs
Sustainability, material exploration, and methods of production drive our passion for making. We are hands-on and immersive; any student of design can discover, iterate and refine their investigations through the use of our many labs. Learn more
Capstone Project
In your senior year, you’ll complete a capstone project focused on an area of your interest which is a first milestone towards your future professional practice. The capstone studio project is presented at the annual design show, a public event attended by industry leaders and potential employers. Pratt Shows 2023.
Study Abroad
Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the college experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. See where you can go.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learn more.
Our Faculty
Pratt’s distinguished faculty of outstanding creative professionals and scholars share a common desire to fully develop each student’s individual potential and creativity. The faculty come from diverse educational and professional backgrounds representing the breadth of Industrial Design’s complexity. This multiplicity of views and experiences provide for a tailored education that is as unique as each of the students. See the full list of Industrial Design faculty and administrators.
Amanda Huynh
Assistant Professor
Person
Karol Murlak
Professor; SCPS Lecturer
Person
Michael Sarno
Visiting Assistant Professor; SCPS Lecturer
Person
Our Alumni
Industrial Design alumni have risen to the tops of their fields in product design, exhibition design, health and wellness industry, academia, transportation, government, community development and advanced research.
Where They Work
- Creative Director of Brand Strategy, General Motors
- Executive Director, Smart Design
- Creative Director, Tumi
- Director of Design Development, Bioforcetech Corp
- Executive Director, Global Visual Merchandising at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Ready for More?
| HERE’S HOW TO APPLY | PORTFOLIO HELP | OUR CAMPUS & BEYOND |
|---|---|---|
| Thinking seriously about Pratt? Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step. | Building your portfolio can be daunting. We’ll answer your questions and help you feel confident about the portfolio you submit with your application. Start building your portfolio, now. | Find yourself at home at Pratt: our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighbors. Check us out. |
Pratt Institute
Pratt Admitted Students Day in 40 seconds!#We had a blast bringing admitted students to explore campus this past weekend. Tell us your favorite thing about campus in the comments!#PrattInstitute #pratt #brooklyn #ClintonHill
3 days ago
The Student Design Marketplace provides our talented student community an opportunity to display and sell their work! Organized by the Pratt Student Government Association (@Pratt_SGA), students in all disciplines are invited to set up stalls and sell their exceptional work including posters, stickers, prints, jewelry, sculptures and so much more. See your work or an artist you recognize? Drop a tag in the comments!
2 weeks ago
Internationally renowned chef Marcus Samuelson (@MarcusCooks) and activist and educator Tony Hillery (@TonyHillery/@HarlemGrown) joined us recently for a powerful discussion on food equity. Moderated by Industrial Design faculty member Amanda Huynh (@AmandaHuynh), the conversation explored the many ways food is foundational to culture, health, and flourishing communities, as well as how race, class, and justice issues come to bear on food access and equity.Part of Pratt's Design Equity initiative, the event showcased how design innovates solutions to food equity challenges and how food is a catalyst for change.#PrattInstitute #DesignEquity #FoodEquity #NewYorkCity
2 weeks ago
Pratt has gone to the dogs!Each year the Pratt Community Engagement Board (@PrattCBoard) organizes activities and service projects during spring break. This year we kicked things off with a night of pet therapy and dog toy making benefiting Pillows for Paws (@PillowsForPaws), a trip to Tompkins Square Park to work with @LESEcologyCenter on re-mulching the garden beds, and a morning with Edible Schoolyard (@ESYNYC) prepping the garden beds at PS 216 in Gravesend, Brooklyn (@PS216Grows).The chicken had no comment on the Pratt Cats' feelings about dogs on campus. Images 1-4: Pet therapy animalsImages 5-7: Students work at PS 216Images 8-10: Thompkins Square Park
3 weeks ago
Excitement is in the air as our 3rd annual Pratt Giving Day kicks off today! We are thrilled to announce that a generous donor has pledged to unlock $5,000 if 100 donors make their gift by 1PM. Hit the link in our bio.Will you accept the challenge and be one of the first 100 donors to contribute to Pratt Giving Day? Every donation, no matter the size, helps us reach our goal of supporting creative expression and education at Pratt Institute.
3 weeks ago
Congratulations to all our newly admitted students! Visit the link in our profile for next steps, Admitted Students' Day information, and more ways to get to know our community! You’re one of us now. Welcome to Pratt!#PrattInstitute #Pratt #Brooklyn
3 weeks ago
Some architects know who they are from a very early age.Video: Kerry Richardson, MArch '26 (@kerryrichardsonn)
1 month ago
A Women's History Month Throwback! Rosabel Robbins was the only woman in this School of Architecture course in 1937. 📸 Photo of a newspaper clipping from the September 10, 1937 issue of @BklynEagle#WomensHistoryMonth
1 month ago
We are saddened to hear of New York design icon Iris Apfel's passing at 102. For over 50 years, Apfel and her distinctive look championed self-expression and exuberant style at any age. Apfel was presented with the Pratt Legend Award in 2014 in recognition of her status as a creative icon including her work as an interior designer, which included restoration projects at the White House under nine presidents and, at 93 years old, consulted and lectured about style and fashion in addition to designing her own accessory line for Home Shopping Network (HSN).Thank you so much for being a rare bird in our city, Iris!Image: 2014 Legend Honorees Iris Apfel, David Yurman, and Kim Hastreiter.
1 month ago
From the Catalog
- ART-491K Special Studies 1 credit
- ART-493K Special Studies 3 credits
- ART-496 Special Studies (Copenhagen) 6 credits
- ART-691K Special Studies 1 credit
- ART-693 Special Studies (Copenhagen) 3 credits
Pratt industrial design alumni are designers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and corporate leaders. This diversity comes from a program of study that allows freedom to explore. In the first and second years, students take core courses, which provide grounding in drawing, color theory, 3-D form, model making, and a full suite of digital design and production skills. At the same time, they take design studios that introduce them to critical thinking, problem-solving, and sustainability. Various studio options are available to the students in the junior and senior years when students can take specialized studios that align with their individual interests and professional aspirations, such as product design, furniture, tabletop and food design, shoes, athletic gear, exhibition design, and interdisciplinary design.
At the end of the senior year, students will complete a capstone studio, which aligns with their concentration area and the direction their future careers may follow. The capstone studio project is exhibited at the annual design show, a public event that industry leaders and potential employers attend.
The department offers study-abroad exchanges with several leading European design schools and a summer furniture-making program in Copenhagen through the Danish International School.
Upon completion of their studies:
- Students demonstrate entry-level professional competence in translating their ideas into 2D and 3D design solutions.
- Students can apply the steps of the design process according to current professional practice.
- Students demonstrate fluency in using digital and analog design tools.
- Students use a life cycle approach to examine environmental and social impacts of their design, and apply that knowledge to the development of holistic sustainable strategies.
- Students approach the needs of clients and end-users from an ethical, socially responsible perspective.
- Students use intellectual, ethical, and critical methods of design inquiry.
- Students demonstrate an understanding of the broader context of design in relation to issues of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity.
