Industrial Design Faculty

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Product Design)

Position: Part-time Instructor

Industry Credits:

• 20+ years visual effects artist / supervisor.
• Emmy award for work on Steven Spielberg HBO series.
• Taught 3d applications to design teams for many major companies that include, Mercedes Benz, Honda, Tesla, Oakley, New Balance. To name a few.

Master of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Industrial Design)

Bachelor of Arts, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, California, Economics and Interdisciplinary Arts)

Education: Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design, Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale

As an industrial designer and obsessive 3D modeler, David continues actively contributing as a freelancer in the design process and development of biometrics, electronics, furniture, cookware, tableware, surgical room technology, collaborating with designers and startups.

As a model maker, animatronic models created by David were part of the Jurassic Park attraction in Universal Studios theme park, Walt Disney World, and other attractions in Orlando, Florida, and also the Rockefeller Center NY, Pokemon 2001 store.

Position: Instructor

Education:

• Bachelors of Fine Art in Painting, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME, 1991 – 1995
• Artist Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Island, ME 1995, 1996
• Academy of Art Teaching Conferences, San Francisco, CA, 2003 – present
• Studio Classes, Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA, 2002 – present
• Artist Residency, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, 2008
• Summer Arts (with Trimpin, Machine Project, and Heather Mae Erickson), CSU, Fresno, CA, 2011
• Masters of Fine Art in Studio Art, California State University, Northridge, CA, 2009-2011
• Summer Arts (with Even Holloway and Katie Grinnan), CSU, Monterey Bay, CA, 2015
• ShoeBox Residency, Los Angeles, CA, 2017

Selected Exhibitions:

• 2021 NOMAD, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
• 2017 Tiger Strikes Austin, ICOSA, Austin, TX
• 2017 The Collectivists, The Brand Library & Art Center, Glendale, CA
• 2017 Far Bazaar, Cerritos College, Cerritos, CA
• 2016 In the Garden, Tiger Strikes Astroid, Los Angeles, CA
• 2015 Intermittent Dialogs, Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles, CA
• 2014 Spectacular Subdivision, High Desert Test Sites, Wonder Valley, CA
• 2014 Conversations and Dialog, Keystone Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2013 Ardor, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME
• 2013 Ardor, 2013 Alumni Biennial Juried Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME
• 2013 Lesson Plans, dA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA
• 2012 Applied Science, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
• 2011 BOOM!, L.A. Mart, Los Angeles, CA
• 2011 MFA Thesis Show, CSUN Art Gallery, California State University, Northridge, CA
• 2010 38,640 Watts, Juried Group Show, St. John’s Methodist Church, Los Angeles, CA
• 2010 Juried Painting Guild Show, West Gallery, California State University, Northridge, CA
• 2010 Juried Student Show, CSUN Art Gallery, California State University, Northridge, CA
• 2009 My Favorite Monster, Arizona Museum for Youth, Mesa, AZ
• 2008 Featured Artist, San Francisco Children’s Art Auction, San Francisco, CA
• 2008 Resident Artists’ Exhibition, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
• 2005 – 2008 MELT, The Art Explosion, San Francisco, CA
• 2007 Under Our Noses, SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
• 2006 The Secret Garden: Women in Art, One Taste, San Francisco, CA
• 2005 Maine College of Art: Ten Years Later, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland ME

Relevant Work Experience:

• Instructor, Academy of Art University; San Francisco, CA (2001 – present)
• Teaching Artist, Armory Center for the Arts; Pasadena, CA (2012 –2020)
• Gallery Manager, Montevista Projects; Los Angeles, CA (2015-2018)
• Graduate Sculpture Studio Assistant, California State University; Northridge, CA (2010)
• Drawing Teaching Assistant, California State University; Northridge, CA (2010)
• Gallery Manager, Art Explosion; San Francisco, CA (2004 –2009)
• Construction and Web Project Manager, Graphic Designer; San Francisco, CA (1999 –2003)
• Administrative Assistant; Portland, ME; Las Cruces, NM; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA (1997 –1999)
• Gallery Attendant, Fine Arts Framer, Clements Gallery; Portland, ME (1996 –1997)
• Art Teacher, Youth Alternatives Boy’s Emergency Shelter; Portland, ME (1996 –1998)

Position: Adjunct Faculty

Education:

• M.A. in Industrial Design with a focus on New Media, HDK Berlin
• Mentored by Burkhard Schmitz, designer for Herman Miller + founder of Studio 7.5

Industry Credits:

• Art Directors Club Award, Germany: Honored during the celebration in Cannes, France.
• Signature Sponsored Collaborative Classes: Recognized student work from 2015 to 2025 across various Product and Transportation Design clients at AAU for polished presentations, solid ideas, and commercially viable, compelling projects.
• Group Exhibition in San Francisco: Showcased a newly developed product line in a Lower Haight gallery space.

Publication Contributions:

• Provided case studies for the book Small Screens by Studio 7.5, published by AVA Publishing.
• Information Source Book, IIDj, Institute for Information Design Japan, Graphic-Sha Publishing Co., Ldt.

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Industrial Design)

Melvin Dominguez is a multi-disciplinary designer in the automotive industry. As a graduate from AAU’s School of Industrial Design, he has worked at Stellantis, Volvo, Toyota, and SAIC, designing exteriors, interiors, and special mobility projects. Today, he is designing intelligent cabin experiences.

Diane holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and a Master’s in Human Factors/Ergonomics. She brings over 20 years of industry experience in design research, having worked with leading companies such as IDEO, Leapfrog, Plantronics, Google, and now HP. Throughout her career, Diane has worn many hats simultaneously: championing qualitative research, serving as the in-house human factors expert, leading teams from behind, and mentoring new hires with a blend of kindness and high standards.

She is deeply passionate about empowering the next generation of designers to find their creative confidence and apply it toward meaningful, positive innovation. Diane’s teaching style emphasizes a thoughtful balance of foundational knowledge and hands-on learning experiences.

She feels fortunate to be part of the ArtU community, working alongside a dedicated team of inspired industrial design professionals

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Industrial Design)

Position: Adjunct Faculty

Education:

• BFA Industrial Design, Academy of Art University
• Stanford University Graduate School of Business
• LEAD Executive Professional Certification

Industry Credits:

• 2 x MOJO Top 100 Most Influential Individuals in the Toy and Game Industry
• 10 year adjunct faculty at AAU
• Consulted Kanye West for his LA and Wyoming Off-Grid Sustainable Housing project

Position: Instructor

Education:

• BFA, Filmmaking and Electronic Media, University of Illinois at Chicago
• MFA, Industrial Design, Academy of Art University

Industry Credits:

• Part of the team awarded “Toy Inventors of the Year, 2015” at Hasbro’s Annual Toy Fair ceremony in New York.
• Designed and contributed to large‑scale permanent installations and room‑specific artwork collections for boutique hotels across the U.S., including Manchester Hyatt in San Diego, Four Seasons in Austin, Marriott Gaylord Rockies Resort, Hyatt Place Athens, and more.

Position: Instructor

Education:

• B.A., Teaching, Juhasz Gyula Teacher Training College Hungary
• M.A., Industrial Design, San Jose State University
• M.S., Biomimicry, Arizona State University

Industry Credits:

• Acuson P10 Handheld Diagnostic Ultrasound Unit, Gold Medical Design Exc. Award, ‘08
• Acuson Cypress Plus Portable Ultrasound for Siemens Medical, Good Design Award, ‘06
• Digidesign Digi002 Mixer, Design Distinction, Annual Design Review, ID Magazine, 07 ‘03
• Motorola iRadio, Honorable Mention, Annual Design Review, ID Ma

Position: Adjunct Faculty

Industry Credits:

• Automotive Designer Intern, Calty Design Research (Lexus/Toyota Design)
• Product Designer & Evangelist, Build-to-Order, A Revolutionary Online Vehicle
• Shoes & Accessory Designer, Disney Consumer Products
• Design Principal, Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Marine Group
• Sr Conceptual Designer, Icon Design & Display
• Creative Design Consultant, Kaiser Permanente Care Transformation & Strategic Innovation

Bachelor of Arts, Western Washington University (Bellingham, Washington, General Studies Art)

Master of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Industrial Design)

Bachelor of Science, Art Center College Design (Pasadena, California, Product Design)

Position: Adjunct Faculty

Thomas McNulty has served as a brand and package design consultant for over 30 years in United States and Europe. Thomas has taught at the Academy of Art University since 1991 received his degree from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California.

During his career, he has worked with renowned designer Robert Miles Runyan, Enterprise IG, CFNAPA, Neworld Associates, Dublin, Ireland, and the Co-founder, Vice President of Profile Design, San Francisco. Thomas has successfully managed and directed many multi-national brand and packaging programs includs: Anheuser Busch, Apple, Raychem, Oracle, Charles Krug Winery, Trinchero Family Estates, Anomaly Vineyards, Lynch Vineyards, Coca-Cola (Ireland), Mrs. Fields, Mileeven Fine Foods, Ireland, Otis Spunkmeyer and Safeway Stores, winning numerous awards and recognition for design excellence.

Publications include: American Corporate Identity, Communication Arts, Graphis, Graphic Design U.S.A., International Packaging, Print Magazine, CMYK, and Graphic Design Business Association, Europe. His company, Profile Design, was featured numerous times as a leading graphic design agency in the San Francisco Graphic Design Showcase publication.

Education:

• Art Center College of Design, BFA Degree – Packaging & Graphics, Received the RitaSue Siegel, Humanitarian Honors Award

Industry Credits:

• Graphic Design USA – Featured as Educators to Watch, 2021

Position: Part-time Instructor

Education:

• B.S. in Transportation Design , Art Center College of Design

Industry Credits:

• Senior Vehicle Designer Nikola Motor
• Former designer for Cobb Performance, Geely, Lynk & Co, Lotus, LEVC, Smart, Zeekr, Fisker and Ford.
• Exterior and Interior design for production and concept programs.

Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University (San Francisco, California, Industrial Design)

Sam Rosen is a professional transportation designer with over 20 years of experience in the global automotive industry. He has held senior design and management roles at companies including Chrysler, Great Wall Motors, and Dongfeng, leading projects that span exterior/interior styling, visualization, and design communication.

Sam Rosen earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design from the Academy of Art University and has previously taught design courses at the collegiate level. His teaching emphasizes drawing as a fundamental skill for ideation, problem-solving, and the effective communication of design concepts across disciplines.

Bachelor of Fine Arts, University Illinois Champaign Urbana (Urbana, Illinois, Industrial Design)

Position: Adjunct Faculty

Education:

• Bachelor of Industrial Design University of Illinois Chicago
• Masters of design, California College of the Arts San Francisco
• University of California Santa Cruz extension
• Personal enrichment AAU Classes in cinematography, graduate design, transportation design, 2 through 5 and automotive rendering

Industry Credits:

• Oscar winning team member for make up effects Beetlejuice
• Oscar winning team member for make up effects Beetlejuice
• Oscar winning team member for scientific and technical achievement with Autodesk Maya exhibition Art of Design at Milwaukee Museum of Art
• Design Logic Denver Art Museum
• VR exhibit at Asian Art Museum winner
• ID magazine best in concept winner
• Design Logic for Dictaphone published WSJ, Art. News and Popular Science
• IDSA commercial equipment winner Themoking SB 300
• IDSA & medical device winner medical design for Natus Algo 3i Algo 3I
• Cofounder Gambit Labs
• Founder Imaginarium VR Lab for the humanities Santa Clara University
• Principal Prescient Venture Design, Clients include Bang & Olufsen, Industrial Light and Magic, Pixar, ZF Outdoors, frog design. Sun Microsystems Apple Industrial Design Group
• Board Member Multiverse and Caustic Graphics
• CERT volunteer Menlo Park Fire Despartpment

Education:

• BFA – San Francisco Academy of Art University
• Independent Study – Art Students League of New York, NY

Industry Credits:

• Afternoon Tea: 54th Venice Biennale, The Quaffers Pavilion, Campo San Polo, IT
• 2-time CLIO Award nominated MTV videos, New York, NY
• Global Exhibit System for AT&T and Olivetti, Milan IT – Burdick Group, San Francisco, CA
• In the Beginning: Exploring Origins in Contemporary Art, Penn Humanities Forum, Philadelphia, PA
• Columbus on Trial with Lourdes Portillo, Whitney Museum Biennial, New York, NY
• Grants: San Francisco Arts Commission, Friends of Urban Arts and Culture, The Puffin Foundation Grant.
• Taught and lectured at the University of California at Berkeley Extension and the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, CA.

Bachelor of Science, Art Center College Design (Pasadena, California, Industrial Design)