Design Speaker Series

The Eskenazi School's Comprehensive Design and Interior Design programs bring renowned designers to campus for public lectures and studio visits as part of the Design Speaker Series.

2025-26 Series

Designing for the Future: Kay Sargent of HOK

Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 5:30 p.m.—Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 6:30 p.m.

As part of the Interior Design at 100 observance on the IU Bloomington campus, the Design Speaker Series presents this talk by Kay Sargent, one of the foremost voices in inclusive design. A licensed and certified interior designer with 40 years of experience, Sargent is the Director of Thought Leadership at HOK.

Elbert Girón: Virtual Talk and Q&A

Monday, October 13, 2025

12:45 p.m.

Elbert Girón is an interdisciplinary designer whose practice includes apparel design, footwear design, furniture design, spatial design, identity design, and print.

Tong-June Moon

Wednesday, November 05, 2025

12:45 p.m.

Tong-June Moon's career has taken him from Seventh Avenue to outer space. In this Design Speaker Series talk, Moon will discuss his transition from New York's fashion industry to the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Softgoods Lab, where he designs spacesuits.

Benjamin Edgar’s Theory of Momentum

Friday, February 13, 2026, 6 p.m.—Friday, February 13, 2026, 7:30 p.m.

Benjamin Edgar—a Chicago-based multidisciplinary designer—uses design, emotion, and decade’s worth of research and development across varying processes and materials to participate in the world around him. Notable work includes his namesake object company, founding Boxed Water, and the cultural blog THE BRILLIANCE!

Shabboo Valipoor | Interdisciplinary Design Research: How Technology Drives Impact and Innovation

Thursday, March 12, 2026, 12 p.m.—Thursday, March 12, 2026, 1:30 p.m.

In this talk, Shabboo Valipoor Ph.D., EDAC, will discuss how emerging technologies, such as virtual reality, computational simulation, and machine learning, are advancing research at the intersection of design, health, and well-being. Valipoor is an Associate Professor of Interior Design in the College of Design, Construction and Planning at the University of Florida.

Amy Franceschini: Presence as Practice

Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 6 p.m.—Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 7:30 p.m.

Amy Franceschini is an artist and founder of Futurefarmers, a group of international artists, architects, computer programmers, writers, farmers and anthropologists whose practices coalesce in many forms – from the far-reaching digital realms to the deeply rooted earthly domains.

Design Speaker Series

Design Speaker Series

2025-26 Series

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