Metaproject News

Giving students an authentic working experience is the goal of Metaproject, an annual design initiative that pairs students with industry partners to develop product concepts. This year's partner is led by two university alumni.

Metaproject is an annual design initiative that pairs students with industry partners to develop products consistent with the Vignelli “Design is One” philosophy.” Students collaborate with new partners and the results are showcased in a global venue.

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. 

Design Milk features industrial design students' senior projects.

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.

Students who took part in Metaproject 13 will have their designs showcased as part of the 2023 New York City Design Week courtesy of their client, Lazzoni. In the fall, students spent the semester working to design seating solutions for the alumnus-owned international furniture company. All of the designs presented will be prototyped by Lazzoni, a first in Metaproject’s history.

Students in RIT’s Metaproject course will design and create seating solutions for international furniture company Lazzoni. Metaproject pairs RIT student designers with a client partner in what has become a seminal experience for the College of Art and Design’s nationally ranked industrial design bachelor’s program.

After a three-year pause because of the pandemic, students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the College of Art and Design will descend on Manhattan this week for NYCxDesign—New York City’s annual celebration of design that attracts hundreds of thousands from around the globe—which is marking its 10th year.

Architect Michael Maltzan, whose firm is the design architect behind RIT’s performing arts complex, will be the next featured speaker for the Vignelli Center for Design Studies' Design Conversations Lecture Series.

Metaproject 12 promises to be the cat’s meow this academic year. Students in RIT’s industrial design program will spend the semester designing products for Modkat, the award-winning maker of cat litter boxes. Metaproject pairs students with a different industry partner each year.

Tiree Walker '21 (Industrial Design) created a pedestal that collects suggestions from the community that drive informed discussion and decisions on monument construction. His process work will be preserved and studied by future generations.

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 48: Design must play a critical role as society faces difficult discussions and works to create a new balance in a troubled world. Josh Owen, director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, and Seth Eshelman '06, founder of sustainable design firm Staach, discuss their Metaproject collaboration.