Melissa Dawson

Associate Professor

School of Design

College of Art and Design

Undergraduate Program Director, Industrial Design

mdmfaa@rit.edu

585-475-5647

Office Location

BOO-4570

Melissa Dawson

Associate Professor

School of Design

College of Art and Design

Undergraduate Program Director, Industrial Design

Education

BS, Cornell University; MS, Philadelphia University

Bio

Melissa Dawson is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY USA, who earned a BS in Textiles & Apparel at Cornell University and a MS in Textile Design at Philadelphia University. Melissa has spent both her professional design and academic careers espousing the technological complexities of successful soft product design. Over the last several years, Melissa has used her experience to successfully integrate formal soft goods product design courses into RIT’s internationally-ranked Industrial Design undergraduate and graduate programs through the creation of RIT Soft Studio. Melissa’s scholarship interests include healthcare textiles, accessible and inclusive PPE, and textile recycling. Melissa is currently on the Fulbright Specialist roster and working on her PhD in Textile Science & Engineering.

mdmfaa@rit.edu

585-475-5647

Personal Links

Personal Website

ORCID

Google Scholar

Areas of Expertise

Industrial Design

Product and Service Design

Soft Product Design

Select Scholarship

External Scholarly Fellowships/National Review Committee

1/1/2021 -12/31/2025
Fulbright Specialist Program
Amount: 0

Published Conference Proceedings

Esteche, Andrea Gonzalez and Melissa Dawson. "Abracemos lo Nuestro: Encouraging New Ideation with Traditional Paraguayan Textiles." Proceedings of the Cumulus Conference: The Design After, held October 30 – November 1, 2019 in Bogotá, Colombia. Ed. Hernando Barragán and Claudia Mejía. Bogotá, Colombia: Cumulus International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media, 2019. Web.

Dawson, Melissa. "UnWasted Possibilities: An Exploration in Product Design Using Felt Offcuts." Proceedings of the NETInc Conference 2019, held May 5-8, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN USA. Ed. PaperCon 2019. Indianapolis, IN: TAPPI Press, 2019. Web.

Dawson, Melissa and Mary Golden. "Abracito: Designing Skin-to-Skin Incubation Garments for Preemies & Micro Preemies." Proceedings of the 2019 International Textiles and Apparel Annual Conference. Ed. ITAA. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Library Digital Press, 2019. Web.

Rivera, Michael L., et al. "Stretching the Bounds of 3D Printing with Embedded Textiles." Proceedings of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Denver, CO, May 6-11, 2017. Ed. General Chairs: Gloria Mark, Susan Fussell. Denver, Colorado: ACM New York, NY, USA, Web.

Shows/Exhibits/Installations

Studio, RIT Soft. Soft Studio at NYC Design Week. By Melissa Dawson and Josh Owen. May 2018. WantedDesign IC, Brooklyn, NY. Exhibit.

Currently Teaching

IDDE-301

Junior ID Studio I

3 Credits

Students will explore the benefits and challenges of working with a design team to address a complex product, problem, or system. Students will explore group dynamics, creativity in design teams, as well as the nature of complex problems and the various methods required to solve them. **Fee: A course fee is required for this course and applied via student account**

IDDE-498

Industrial Design Internship

1 - 6 Credits

The industrial design internship provides students the option to work in the industrial design field. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Internship Permission Form to enroll.

IDDE-501

Senior ID Studio I

3 Credits

This course will explore the application of design methods and skills to projects addressing large-community and global problems requiring team-based, trans-disciplinary collaborations. **Fee: A course fee is required for this course and applied via student account**

IDDE-520

The Studio 2.0

3 Credits

This course will focus on developing ideas in art, design and craft. The specific topics for this course will vary each time it is taught. Potential topics may include the creation of public spaces, products, analog and digital fabrication, furniture, inter-disciplinary collaborations, etc. This course can be taken multiple times but individual topics must be different.

IDDE-599

Industrial Design Independent Study

1 - 6 Credits

Industrial Design Independent Study provides students the means to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. With the assistance of their faculty advisers, students will propose a course of study. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. A 3.0 or higher GPA required.

IDDE-620

The Studio 2.0

3 Credits

IDDE-672

Graduate ID Studio II

3 Credits

This is the second part of a two-course series that provides opportunities for fine tuning of design process and development of meaningful solutions across multiple scenarios. Projects and assignments will expand on the application of design methods and collaboration. Course content will integrate current and emerging technologies that influence design practice as well as society and culture. A strong focus will be on the testing and implementation of design solutions in effective ways.

IDDE-799

Industrial Design Independent Study

1 - 6 Credits

IDDE-890

Thesis: Implementation and Evaluation

6 Credits

The second of a two-course thesis sequence, this course focuses on continued concept development of a thesis, concluding with the implementation and retrospective evaluation of chosen design problem. Solution is presented in a public exhibition, complemented by a written articulation of how the theories and methods employed in the project impact the current and future state of design in society.

In the News

January 2, 2024

Should we limit the number of new clothing items we purchase each year?

WXXI’s “Connections” program features Melissa Dawson, associate professor and director of the undergraduate industrial design program.
May 11, 2023

Vignelli-inspired regalia to debut at commencement

Associate professor Melissa Dawson and Clare Maxwell '23 (industrial design) designed a cap and gown using fabric from the Vignelli archives for Josh Owen, director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, to wear at commencement.
March 10, 2023

Students benefit from interdisciplinary work during Emerging Creatives Student Summit

Students across the country, including four from RIT, came together last weekend to explore the question ‘what do we want our future to look like?’ during the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) Emerging Creatives Student Summit.

More News

Featured Work

2021 ID MFA Graduate Studio II: Play with Purpose

2nd year MFA Industrial Design Students

Each graduating MFA student was responsible for designing a collection of educational toys appropriate for children between the ages of birth and 8 years. Product aesthetics were defined by and...

2021 Senior Soft Studio II: National Parks

Senior Industrial Design Students

Each student designed soft goods product based on inspiration gathered from a chosen US National Park. Identifying a key observation from selected artifacts found within the Vignelli Center for Design...

Explorations in Wet Felting

Melissa Dawson

Three-dimensional wet-felted pieces made from merino, silk chiffon, and silk throwsters waste. Exhibited in 2019 CAD Faculty Exhibition, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York USA.