“Architecture needs to be more human,” says Mateo Mantilla (M.Arch; B.F.A., architecture, 2020). “‘Human’ means designed for people, for health, for well-being. It means built environments where we can live better lives together.” Mantilla is the IDA Design Awards 2021 Emerging Architectural Designer of the Year, the latest accolade for…

“Growing up, my favorite thing about the newspaper was always the funny pages,” says Jeanna Pappas (B.F.A., illustration, 2017; M.F.A., sequential art). “I think I was drawing before I learned how to talk, and in some ways, I haven’t changed — give me a pencil and a napkin, and I’ll…

For Danielle Elsener (B.F.A., fashion, 2013), a time of global tumult has been anything but idle. Since receiving the Evian Activate Movement Program grant in July 2020, the visionary designer was a featured exhibitor with the ZWDO collective at COP26 UN Climate Change Conference; collaborated with popular Portland, Oregon legacy…

Who better to do this work? Sauda Mitchell (B.A., visual communication, 2013) is an archivist, artist, and educator — indivisible facets of a unified identity, all on display in her solo exhibition Re-Cor-Dare, at the Jepson Center in Savannah. “Having attended SCAD, having worked at the Georgia Historical Society, having…

As a graduate student, Shreya Dhawan (M.F.A., service design, 2018) contributed to two transformational SCADpro projects: Delta Air Lines’ “Envisioning the Future of Air Travel,” and Philips Healthcare’s “Redefining Patient Care Services.” Solving significant challenges for major corporate clients was an experience she achieved before graduation. “Our students learn how…

The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has named Joel Ax (B.F.A., furniture design, 2017) one of the 100 Greatest Men’s Swimmers & Divers of the past century. The most dominant freestyler in NAIA history, Ax is named to a list that includes legendary Olympic champions Caleb…

“By primal, I don’t mean primitive, I mean essentialism,” says Archana Menon (M.F.A., furniture design), founder of design studio primal-forms. “Simplicity can facilitate reflection and joy.” Strolling coffee-in-hand through Savannah’s tree-lined Pulaski Square, Archana is ostensibly on break between academic quarters. In reality, the graduate student has just finished organizing…

“To me, the most refined aesthetic art form is fabric design,” said Pinnacle Award-winning textile designer Wesley Mancini, speaking to an attentive group of SCAD fibers students in Pepe Hall. “I hope some of you become professional fabric designers.” Judging by the enthusiasm in the room, Mancini’s wish will be…

For Akshay Manjunath, “pressure cooker” is not a pejorative. At SCAD, Akshay (M.A., industrial design, 2019; M.A., design management, 2019) pursued two master’s degrees simultaneously. Among his crucial collaborations, he worked on a SCADpro project, conducting research and data analysis, and providing recommendations for the design of a low-cost modular…