Design Education Guided by Global Leaders
Center for Design Studies brings together experienced design educators, international advisors, and industry practitioners who mentor students through studio learning, research, and professional practice in contemporary design.
Guided by an International Board of Advisors
CDS is supported by globally respected design leaders who bring international perspective, academic depth and strategic direction into our evolving design ecosystem.
Dain Olsen
The Game School and NAMAE, ArizonaDain Olsen is a national leader and specialist in media arts education with 35 years of experience as an instructor, administrator, and advisor. He currently serves as President of the National Association for Media Arts Education and is a faculty associate with the Game School at Arizona State University. Dain has authored a book for Routledge on media arts education and has served as a consultant and presenter for numerous states and organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the College Board, and the National Association for Media Literacy Education. Dain has also taught at Otis College and UCLA, and is an intermedia artist in video, sound, interactive, and multimedia performance.
Dmitry Kharshak
Dean, HSE University, St PetersburgProf. Dmitry Kharshak is an internationally recognized graphic designer, photographer, curator, publisher, and design educator with nearly three decades of experience in visual communication, branding, typography, and publication design. He serves as the Dean of the HSE Art and Design School, Saint Petersburg Campus, HSE University, Russia. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of PROJECTOR, an internationally acclaimed design and visual arts magazine, and has curated numerous international design exhibitions. Prof. Kharshak has taught and delivered lectures at leading universities across Europe, Asia, and India, and has served as a juror for prestigious international design competitions, including the European Design Awards and the Golden Bee Global Poster Biennale.
Mugendi Kanampiu M'RITHAA
Professor of Industrial Design at Machakos University, KenyaProf. Mugendi K. M'Rithaa is a globally recognized industrial designer, educator, and advocate for socially responsible and sustainable design. He is Professor of Industrial Design at Machakos University, Kenya, and UNESCO Chair on Cloud Computing for Sustainable Development. His work focuses on sustainability, inclusive and universal design, indigenous knowledge systems, participatory design, and design for social innovation. A former President of the World Design Organization and founding member of the Pan-Afrikan Design Institute, Prof. M'Rithaa has taught, lectured, and advised institutions across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, making significant contributions to design education and global design policy.
Chetan Sharma
Product Design Lead, Brand BFC -ORRA DiamondsChetan Sharma is an award-winning product designer, TEDx speaker, and design educator with over 15 years of experience in lifestyle product design across the jewellery, watches, and accessories sectors. An NID graduate, he has worked with leading brands including Titan, CaratLane, ORRA Diamonds, and Sabyasachi, contributing to product innovation, brand development, and design strategy. Alongside his industry practice, Chetan has been actively engaged in design education as a visiting faculty member, mentor, and jury at the National Institute of Design (NID), NIFT, and international design institutions. His expertise spans product design, design research, consumer insights, material exploration, and craftsmanship, bridging industry practice with design education.
Dr. Jamila Varawala
Distinguished ProfessorJamila Varawala brings over four decades of experience spanning design education, curriculum development, institutional leadership, and creative entrepreneurship. She served as Dean at Ecole Intuit Lab, Mumbai, for ten years from its inception. She held similar leadership roles at Cambrian College, Canada, and the University of Huddersfield, UK. Along the way, she has mastered adapting international curricula to suit Indian students. Her career further includes writing children's books with Tata Donnelly, and consulting for Mahindra, Times of India, and YPO (Young Presidents' Organization).Teaching remains the most rewarding pursuit. Her PhD in Sequential Thinking in Visual Communication reflects a lifelong commitment to building pedagogy for creative minds. She has always worked towards bridging the gap between design education and professional practice.
The Teaching Faculty
The core faculty at CDS combine academic research with professional practice, guiding students through studio-based learning, critical thinking and design experimentation.
Hari Sudhakaran
M-Des in Industrial Design from ICD, IIT Bombay. 30 Plus years of experience in the animation and VFX Industry. Supervised numerous accomplished national and International Projects.
Aman Upadhayay
Aman holds a Master's degree in Computer-Aided Structural Design and works as a design educator, structural engineer, and interactive immersive artist. His practice explores geometry, materials, and spatial aesthetics while designing interactive environments across physical and digital realms using creative computation, coding, and node-based tools.
Riddhi Sharma
Riddhi Sharma is a Communication Designer passionate about transforming ideas into engaging and meaningful visual experiences through branding, publication design, research, and visual communication.