Nidhi Singh Rathore appointed professor at GW Corcoran School

The Design program at the Corcoran School for the Arts and Design at the George Washington University is proud to announce the hire of incoming Assistant Professor of Design Nidhi Singh Rathore. Professor Singh Rathore is a South Asian designer, researcher and educator who uses design methodologies to create civic engagement and drive social innovation. She has developed a value-centered approach that deconstructs nebulous and complicated concepts, brings people together, and breaks down intricate challenges to create more effective and equitable interventions. She blends creative expertise, analytical rigor, and social consciousness positioning her as a leading voice in the realm of civic design and social impact.

Singh Rathore most recently led civic design for Montgomery County and formerly worked for the Los Angeles Innovation Team. It is through her work as a public servant that she developed an understanding of the ways marginalization and inequity stand in the way of civic participation. She has collaborated with the Stanford Impact Labs, exploring design’s role in addressing societal challenges like housing insecurity and social media impact. She has also worked with Cedars Sinai Cancer Research Center, through Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design, to reimagine cancer clinical trials and screening outreach programming.

“As a brown, foreign-born woman living in the United States,” Singh Rathore said, “I am continually exploring my position and privilege.” Her work also dives into the hidden complexities and economies of the internet in order to redefine manual labor in an increasingly autonomous and digital world—grounded in the relationship between the global north and south. Like her thesis at ArtCenter College of Design, Network-by-Design, she creates physical and visual artifacts to convey her learnings by combining speculative design, politics, and ethics, questioning: do we know the world we live in?

Professor Singh Rathore joins the growing design program at the Corcoran School. We currently offer a BFA in graphic design and a BFA, BA and MA in interaction design. With professional work experience in the tech start-up, corporate, and public sectors, Singh Rathore is positioned to lead design students at all stages of their education. The innovative, STEM designated Design program at the Corcoran stresses the interdependence and systemic connectivity of contemporary design practice and centers design as the crucial approach to successfully navigating the 21st century. Students working with Professor Singh Rathore will learn how to leverage and intervene in complex bureaucratic systems as well as develop compelling objects and community-centered artifacts. Perhaps most importantly, students will understand what it means to center equity and ethics in their design work and reflect on the joy of creating.