Seeking faculty of Fine and Industrial Design

Cranbrook Academy of Art, ranked nationally as one of the top graduate programs in design, art, and architecture, is now accepting applications for a full-time faculty member with expertise in Fine and Industrial Design.

This full-time faculty position will be offered for a three-year term. The position will commence in August 2025.

As we embark on a strategic plan to reimagine the Academy for the 21st century, we seek a designer to work with colleagues and graduate students in our Architecture and Design department, which encompasses tracks in Architecture, Industrial/Product, and Interaction Design. We seek an innovative designer to contribute specific expertise in product, industrial, furniture, or lighting design. This position requires a highly collaborative, future-focused, entrepreneurial thinker who can serve as a leader among colleagues and as a change agent for design and its pedagogy within the Academy.

The Industrial Design program (formerly named 3D Design) grew out of the influential interdisciplinary design program in which Charles Eames taught and contemporary designers such as Cas Holman, Jay Sae Jung Oh, and Chris Schanck studied. The program is an experimental laboratory exploring human needs as expressed in the objects and furniture of daily life.

Industrial Design at Cranbrook straddles the intersection of design, art, and craft with an approach informed by architecture and interior design. Driven by exploration and risk-taking, and through active questioning and making, students develop an understanding of the connections between forms and ideas, creating a framework for process and idea generation that can transition to projects at a variety of scales, including furniture, lighting, and objects for daily use. The program nurtures designers who wish to develop an architectural and spatial awareness in their work.

This position will work alongside faculty with expertise in Interaction Design and Architecture to mentor graduate students in architecture, interior, urban, landscape or interaction (UI/UX) design. Together with these colleagues, this position will curate interdisciplinary experiences for students with a host of prominent guest designers.

The Academy seeks a candidate with a broad background in fine or industrial design, a commitment to interdisciplinarity and pedagogical innovation, facility in strategic planning, and a strong understanding of challenges and opportunities in postindustrial, post-pandemic product design.

Cranbrook faculty mentor up to 15 graduate students in a supportive environment composed of eight other departments: Graphic Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture and academy-wide programming in Critical Studies and Professional Practices.

In collaboration with department colleagues, the faculty member is responsible for determining the curriculum and pedagogy for students in Industrial Design while working collaboratively to ensure high-impact, multi-disciplinary, and innovative experiences for students across all department disciplines.

They are also responsible for recruiting incoming Industrial Design students. The faculty is expected to maintain an active professional practice evidencing influence at the national or international scale. Practice may include some combination of client work, exhibitions, publications, and speaking engagements.

Primary responsibilities of this position include mentorship and teaching as well as management of the facilities and active recruitment of students. Successful candidates must possess a vibrant record as a professional designer; a terminal degree in industrial design or related field; 5 years or more of college-level teaching (preferred) with dedicated experience at the graduate level; excellent communication and leadership skills; the ability to foster an inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning environment; and the capacity to make a significant contribution to the field and the Academy.

Cranbrook Academy of Art seeks a colleague who can prepare students to be leaders, not only in their field but in positioning artists and designers as catalysts for change toward a more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive world. We seek a colleague who can bring diversity and inclusion and increase access for our students through their teaching, research, or personal or professional experiences.

Through its unique educational model, Cranbrook Academy of Art has made a substantial artistic, educational, and institutional impact since it was founded in 1932. The Academy of Art is part of the larger Cranbrook Educational Community, situated on a 300-acre campus located just outside of Detroit. Founded by George G. Booth and designed by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, Cranbrook is a community of educators, artists, architects and designers, living and working together. Comprising Cranbrook Art Museum, the Center for Collections and Research, the Institute of Science, and a private school serving students from kindergarten through high school, the Cranbrook Educational Community offers a unique backdrop for teaching and learning.

This faculty member is provided with a private studio and housing on campus. In addition, Cranbrook offers competitive compensation and benefits that include medical, dental, life insurance, long-term and short-term disability, and retirement programs with employer contribution.

For full application information, visit here.