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.
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.
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
Isamu Noguchi sculpture, Keio University’s Art Center, Japan
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.
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.
Looking for something to do on summer break? Pratt students can get into a variety of local cultural institutions with their student IDs! Visit the link in our bio for the most up to date list.
Video: @kerryrichardsonn
#NYCMusuems #NYC #NewYorkCity #ThingsToDo #ArtAndDesign #Museums
The Hawks have left the nest! In the past three decades, red-tailed hawks have returned to NYC and we love that they make our campus home.
Content warning: Hawks are carnivores and the video captures the hawk having a meal.
Photo and Video Credits: Students @AdemWijewickrema (1, 2 and video) @EYYonts (3) and Staff Photographer Dahlia Dandashi (4).
#BirdsOfNYC #Birders #birdersofinstagram #birdphotography #Hawk #RedTailedHawk
Happy Fourth of July!
Pratt Alumnus Kadir Nelson, BFA Communications Design '96 brings contemporary updates to classic moments of Americana in his illustrations. A regular cover artist for @NewYorkerMag, the painter and illustrator excels at capturing the feeling of summer in NYC. You can almost feel the summer heat in these four covers!
His covers for the magazine capture contemporary events, classic moments, and the pulse of our city.
#PrattInstitute #PrattAlumni
The Black Alumni of Pratt (@PrattBAP) kicked off the season with an incredible Summer Social at the Pratt Foundations Lab! It was the perfect occasion to connect, reconnect, and welcome the newest alumni!
For over 30 years, @PrattBAP has proudly supported our students and alumni of Black and Latinx heritage. BAP’s mission is inspired by Pratt Institute’s founder Charles Pratt, who said in 1887, “I want to found a school that shall give everybody a chance.”
#PrattInstitute #PrattBAP #PrattAlumni
Amira Chowyuk, MS Packaging, Identities, and Systems Design ’26, and Donavon Falls, MLA ’27, have been selected for the third and final year of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellowship program, which creates opportunities for climate change scholarship in design and architecture at Pratt.
Made possible by the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation, chaired by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, the annual Fellowship was awarded to two first-year incoming graduate students, one in the School of Architecture and one in the School of Design, based on the strength of their portfolios of work addressing the impacts and challenges of climate change.
With a background in sustainability and ecodesign, Chowyuk aims to apply her interest in biomaterials, CMF, biobased production systems, and product sustainability to create circular, regenerative designs that are inspired by nature, spark curiosity, and contribute to a flourishing bioeconomy. She has earned degrees in industrial engineering and bioresource science from North Carolina State University and University of Washington.
Through systems-based thinking and research-driven design, Falls has explored the environmental social sciences, urban ecology, horticulture, and woodworking. He aims to investigate the application of nature-based solutions in combating climate change, biodiversity loss, and social injustice, and to cultivate and document stories of empowerment through the practice of landscape architecture. Falls has earned degrees in environmental studies and wood-oriented furniture design from the Ramapo College of New Jersey and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, respectively.
Previous Diamonstein-Spielvogel Fellows include Race Calderin, MFA Interior Design ’24; Tarin Jones, MS Historic Preservation ’24; Madelyn Townsend, MArch ’26; and Leslie Trotter, MFA Communications Design ’25.
“I have three words of advice for up-and-coming creatives: Find a mentor.”
Sarah Sokol, BFA Interior Design ’11, lists Beyonce, Rihanna, and Janelle Monae among many of the famous faces that have been framed by her custom headwear.
For our latest issue of Prattfolio, Sokol shared how mentorship helped her carve out a niche in her industry.
Read more from Prattfolio at the link in our bio.
Images: Sarah Sokol; @InterviewMag Issue 554, featuring Rihanna (@BadGalRiri) wearing a hat made by Sarah Sokol ’11. Courtesy of the artist (@sarahsokolmillinery).
#PrattInstitute #PrattAlumni #Millinery
💡✨Here’s a bright idea: a rechargeable reading lamp that doubles as an hourglass!
This design, the Hourglass Reading Lamp, was developed and executed by Iris Guo, MID ’24, (@1risgu0) as part of an industrial design course sponsored by @Kikkerland, a New York-based industry leader in product design, and @BarnesAndNoble, the largest bookseller in the US.
The class, Prototypes I: Kikkerland Design Challenge, taught by Professor of Industrial Design Constantin Boym, had undergraduate and graduate industrial design students conceive products for book lovers.
Student designers, including Guo, incorporated expert feedback throughout the semester into their product designs. Their efforts culminated in a public showcase of their prototypes at Barnes & Noble Union Square, where Guo presented her Hourglass Reading Lamp. The design was recognized with the People’s Choice award, tallying the most votes from a two-week period where the public picked their favorite design. 🏆
As part of Prattfolio’s coverage of the Prototypes course, Guo shared a few words about the importance of designing with an eye toward atmosphere and self-care.
Carlos Motta, associate professor of interdisciplinary practice in fine arts, is featured on Artsy as an LGBTQ+ artist to celebrate this Pride Month. Léuli Eshrāghi, curator of Indigenous practices at Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, says that Motta’s practice “situates a profoundly queer intersectional critique of imperialism and binarism in relation to futurities of queer wellness and fulfillment, which we all need more of!”
Image : Carlos Motta (b. 1978)
The Fall of the Damned (Serpents), 2021
P.P.O.W
#LGBTQArtists @PrattFaculty #Pride #PrattInstitute
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.
