Josh Owen
Vignelli Center Director
Josh Owen
Vignelli Center Director
Education
BA, BFA, Cornell University; MFA, Rhode Island School of Design
Bio
Josh Owen is the Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design and the Director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at RIT. Prior to his current role, Owen was Director of the Industrial Design Department in which he continues to teach his popular course known as the Metaproject. Owen is also the president of his eponymous design studio, Josh Owen LLC. His professional projects are produced by major manufacturers and have won many awards. Owen's work is included in the permanent design collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou (FR), the Chicago Athenaeum (USA), the Corning Museum of Glass (USA), the Denver Art Museum (USA), the Design Museum Brussels (BE), the Museum of American Jewish History (USA), the Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal (CA), the Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA) the Red Dot Design Museum (DE) and the Taiwan Design Museum (TP). His students' works have won awards, been exhibited and featured in international publications and critical venues and have been put into mass production prior to graduation. Owen's professional work has been featured in major exhibitions, numerous books on design and is regularly included in critical design discourse. He is the author of the book, Lenses for Design and the forthcoming book, Design for Study.
Currently Teaching
In the News
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August 30, 2023
Metaproject 14 gives students a chance to leave their mark on the RIT campus landscape
For this semester's Metaproject industrial design initiative, students will work with RIT President David Munson to design concepts for a series of outdoor, hands-on museum installations for the Henrietta campus. The outdoor installations will tell the story of RIT in a way that is immersive and engaging to passersby on campus. Each student is tasked with creating a concept for one of the 14 installations.
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June 6, 2023
RIT’s Metaproject 13 Encouraged Students To Push the Boundaries of Seating
Design Milk features industrial design students' senior projects.
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May 25, 2023
Design students unveil seating solutions at NYC Design Week
Thirteen students worked with Lazzoni to produce contemporary chairs and sofas, with one of the designs now set to move into production with the high-end furniture brand.