Syracuse Views Fall 2024
We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to 鶹Ʒ at…
VPA industrial and interaction design professor Don Carr named inaugural recipient
Continuum, a global innovation design consultancy co-founded by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70 H’09, its president and chief design officer, has established a new award to recognize innovation in interdisciplinary design education at Syracuse University.
The Continuum + Arthur Pulos Award will be presented to an exemplary faculty member at SU who has made unique and valuable contributions to interdisciplinary design education. Its name in part honors the late Arthur Pulos, ICSID, FIDSA. Pulos was a globally renowned industrial designer, an early leader of the industrial design profession and a professor and longtime chair of the Department of Design at SU’s (VPA). He championed the concept that design should act as a bridge across departments and disciplines within a university and within industry.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved in supporting the outstanding educational leaders who make up SU’s design program,” says Zaccai, who is also a member of the VPA Advisory Council and an alumnus of the college’s industrial and interaction design (IID) program. “Through this award, we hope to keep Arthur Pulos’ vision of the importance of the interplay of all the disciplines alive and continue to foster design excellence among the SU community.”
Continuum and VPA have announced that the inaugural recipient of the Continuum + Arthur Pulos Award is Don Carr, VPA professor of IID. He will be honored with Zaccai and Continuum at a reception on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 6-8 p.m. at the W New York-Union Square, Studio 1, 201 Park Ave. South, New York City.
“Don Carr is an ideal choice for the inaugural Continuum + Arthur Pulos Award,” says VPA Dean Ann Clarke. “He is a leader among the college’s faculty in interdisciplinary education, engaging students from across the SU campus in research and creative endeavors. I applaud Gianfranco Zaccai and Continuum for recognizing and supporting faculty who are innovative and collaborative.”
“Arthur Pulos was a silversmith, designer, author, historian and visionary,” says Carr. “For many design professionals, he remains the iconic design educator of his time. His legacy is one that we’ve been extremely fortunate to carry forward here at Syracuse University. Through the efforts of Gianfranco Zaccai and the collective minds that are Continuum, I’m deeply honored to be the first recipient of the Continuum + Arthur Pulos Award.”
In addition to receiving $10,000 to further his creative and scholarly work, Carr will be presented with an award designed by Zaccai and Continuum that is inspired by the idea of great educators serving as lighthouses, guiding and influencing—but not steering—students as they learn. The award features a light component that will react with variations in color and intensity to online commentary and discussions related to the winning educator. The online component will serve as a place for past and present students to share stories and influences that the educator has had on their lives. The web page for the project, , will launch on Dec. 15 and tune in to web-based chatter about the award, the recipient and Syracuse. It will feature a visualization that reflects and explains how the physical award’s behavior is dynamic, and offer a place for people to add to the conversation.
For more information about attending the reception, contact Traci Washburn, VPA director of alumni affairs, at (315) 443-4728 or tmwashbu@syr.edu.
Carr joined the IID faculty in 1995 after working as an industrial designer for firms in the U.S. and Europe. He served as the IID program coordinator from 1997-2010, creating a long-range plan for the program and establishing sponsored projects with such corporations as LG Electronics, Welch Allyn, Motorola and Bose. He is also a design consultant with Carr + Lamb Design in Manlius, N.Y., where he specializes in product development and design research. He holds a master of fine arts degree in design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a bachelor of fine arts degree in industrial design from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Carr’s numerous honors and awards include gold, silver and bronze International Design Excellence Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America; three Design Distinction Awards from ID Magazine; and the American Center for Design’s Beacon Award. He was also named one of DesignIntelligence’s Most Admired Educators of 2006 and one of ID Magazine’s top 40 international designers in 1995. The Department of Design and COLAB, the department’s collaborative design laboratory, named him an inaugural Senior COLAB Faculty Fellow in 2010.
Zaccai co-founded Continuum in 1983, defining the role of design research and interdisciplinary design as key drivers of human-centered business and product innovation. Under his direction, Continuum has been an innovation leader, creating products, services and experiences that work for people and for the businesses that serve them. Based on in-depth consumer research, rigorous analysis of clients’ business challenges and inspired creativity, Continuum uncovers opportunities for innovation and makes them real. Continuum has worked with companies worldwide, including AllSteel, American Express, Amplifon, BBVA, Herman Miller, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Samsung, Sprint and Staples. Continuum has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Milan, Seoul and Shanghai. Learn more at .
We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to 鶹Ʒ at…
We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by filling out a submission form or sending it directly…
We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by filling out a submission form or sending it…
We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…
We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.