International Design Exchange

Culture affects design.

The design department at Ohio State values the interwoven experience of design and culture. For over forty years the design faculty has nourished partnerships with universities in Europe and South America. The Design Exchange program encourages students from foreign universities to study at Ohio State, and offers Ohio State students the opportunity to study abroad. This interchange builds an array of perspectives in and out of the studio.

We created an interactive traveling exhibit and identity design. The students collaborate to assemble the puzzle-like exhibit. While assembling the boxes and exploring how the graphics correspond the students learn about the design culture and classes available at Ohio State. The universal arrow symbol in the identity emphasizes the program’s reciprocal nature. The Design Exchange stresses the importance for students to think beyond their cultural borders in order to design for diverse audiences.

An interactive exhibit, designed to intrigue and inform.

The OSU Design Exchange offers students’ the opportunity to combine their personal exploration of visual design with a chance to expand their horizons, all within the context of a foreign culture. The cross-cultural atmosphere often enhances students’ creative work as they learn formally from instruction and informally from fellow students and their rich environments. This experience broadens their creative resources for a lifetime.