Design Identities will celebrate five Black Design alumni who have been influencers in their fields. Students from each department will conduct one on one interviews with an alumnus in their field to learn about their successes as designers and to encourage the next generation of students, especially BIPOC students, with an introduction to and an interest in design.
Interviews, portfolios of work, and backgrounds on each designer will be released weekly throughout February and the first week of March on the College of Design’s social media channels and on a dedicated webpage. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to see information on a new designer each week. Additional information can be found by visiting the Design programs website. Additional information can be found by visiting the College of Design’s website.
Tim Allen was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business for 2017. He leads the global product design team at Airbnb, centered on design and inclusivity. His focus on fueling human potential is key to building products and cultures that inspire people to do their best work. As an additional outlet for his passion around design thinking, Tim speaks and instructs at schools and events around the country.
Tim’s work has been recognized with several of the industry’s most esteemed awards, including multiple Cannes Cyber Lions, D&AD, ANDY, Webby and OneShow awards. Named in the Creativity 50, Creativity magazine’s 2013 list of the year’s most inspiring and influential creative figures, he also played a key role on the award-winning R/GA team who created Nike+, the platform named Campaign of the Decade by AdWeek magazine, Nike Training Club, Nike’s first ever iOS App, and Nike.com.
Prior to Airbnb, Tim led Microsoft’s Experiences & Devices design practice and Amazon’s Product Design Studio as Executive Creative Director leading the experience design for Echo, FireTV, and Kindle products. Tim also shaped the vision for one of the largest Experience Design teams in the United States at R/GA, whose Nike work established the future of connected experiences for brands. Through innovative work with Adobe, Red Hat, and IBM, Tim holds seven patents related to software design, ranging from chat interface modeling to mobile device synchronization.