March 20, 2026
Collaborative Design graduates turn creativity into real-world impact
Graduates from the Collaborative Design program at Ferris State’s Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD) prove that design is more than just visual assets. Design can be used to solve complex problems that shape how people live, work, and connect.
For Rae McDowell, a UX/UI designer and consultant, the Collaborative Design program offered the flexibility to explore her interests while developing the tools to launch her career.
“I felt creative but didn’t know exactly what discipline to go into,” McDowell said. “Collaborative design gave me a larger skill set and helped me narrow down where I wanted to go.”
McDowell now leads her own design consultancy, helping clients improve user experience in industries including healthcare, retail and environmental sustainability. She credits her KCAD education for preparing her to approach design challenges through empathy and systems thinking.
“The skill sets I got from the program were broad. It almost acted like a toolbox,” McDowell said. “It didn’t matter what industry I applied it to. I knew how to approach a design problem, break it down and work with the people around me.”
Her recent projects include work with the Great Lakes Observing System, where she uses design storytelling to make scientific data accessible to the public.
“I love that this work is about access to information,” McDowell said. “It connects back to the Great Lakes and how design can play a role in larger conversations about climate change and sustainability.”
For alumnae Laurie Bishop, who now serves as full-time faculty at Lansing Community College, the Collaborative Design program provided a name for something she had always done instinctively: designing with people at the center.
“I realized I was already doing human-centered design, but I didn’t have a name for it,” Bishop said. “When I got to collaborative design, it made so much sense to me. It felt like home.”
Returning to school as a nontraditional student, Bishop said the program’s focus on people helped her rediscover her confidence and creativity.
“Learning that empathy is a good thing was the single greatest part of the program for me,” she said. “It reignited my love for creativity, education, and design.”
At Lansing Community College, Bishop now integrates human-centered design into her art and design courses and is developing new micro-credentials that pair creativity with STEM programs. She said those ideas began in her KCAD coursework, where collaboration across disciplines is a key part of the curriculum.
“The idea of collaborative design is that you can design your own career,” Bishop said. “You don’t have to pick one path. You can make your own.”
The Collaborative Design program emphasizes real-world projects, working in diverse groups, and community engagement. Students learn to “make with, not for” the people they serve, and each student completes a minor in a related discipline such as graphic design, industrial design or marketing.
“The jobs our students will have when they leave here might not even exist yet,” said collaborative design program chair Gayle DeBruyn. “They’re learning how to design smarter, with the end in mind.”
As design continues to evolve across industries, graduates like McDowell and Bishop show how KCAD’s Collaborative Design program prepares students to think critically, work collaboratively, and create solutions that make a lasting difference. Their careers reflect Ferris State’s commitment to developing adaptable, forward-thinking designers ready to meet the needs of an ever-changing world with careers for life.