My experience at IxD has been different than my experience at my past college: here we work as groups, before I have never worked on group projects and mainly worked individually. In IxD, so far, I've had the chance to work in a group setting as well as learn valuable project management skills to work with others. I cherish this because it has brought more interactivity in designing projects. Another thing I love about this program is we are often challenged to think outside the box and not get stuck on a definite problem and solution in the beginning. This lets us explore more options and design an innovative product.
Since our start, we have given students the building blocks to unleash their creativity and vision on the world. Let’s take a look at these building blocks and celebrate everything we’ve achieved this past year.
Each fall, a fresh cohort of students is welcomed into the SMC IxD program. The hope and enthusiasm surrounding the beginning of this journey are palpable. Meeting fellow designers, faculty, and attending classes is exciting. However, as with anything new in life, fear also has a way of creeping in. Often, incoming students are uncertain about what specific roles or areas of design to focus on during the program. I try my best to assure these students that as they progress through the IxD program, answers will reveal themselves. By embracing a growth mindset and recognizing the significance of building relationships, including valuable community partnerships, students will find their unique design practice taking shape. A beautiful quote from organizational psychologist Adam Grant has stuck with me: "Passions are developed, not just discovered."
This fall, our program launched with the incredible support of CicLAvia, a non-profit organization that transforms streets across Los Angeles into car-free festivals, where people can cycle, dance, run, dine, shop, and connect. IxD students collaborated with CicLAvia to explore ways of further enhancing the public's experience at these events. This marked our second collaboration with CicLAvia, deepening our students' understanding of the value of human-centered design. Their final projects showcased an interdisciplinary approach, resulting in thoughtful solutions that were presented to CicLAvia stakeholders. We invite you to glimpse the outcomes of their work in this annual report.
A new partnership with Recharge, the leading subscription platform, took place at their headquarters during the first week of the spring semester. Recharge executives generously shared their expertise with our students, covering topics such as working in tech, networking, salary negotiations, and my personal favorite the importance of advancing with integrity. Furthermore, ten seniors were selected for one-on-one mentorships with Recharge's c-suite leaders, meeting monthly over the past four months.
As we wrap up another amazing year within the SMC IxD program, I am truly amazed by the individual journeys and growth of the designers in our graduating class of 2024. I’m grateful for our supportive community, where students can explore their paths with support and encouragement along the way. Our collaborations with CicLAvia and Recharge demonstrate the transformative power of partnerships in providing meaningful experiences through both professional and personal development. Together, we will continue to navigate this journey of discovery, empowering our students and community every step of the way.
Nicole Chan
Faculty Lead, SMC
B.S. Interaction Design program
Since starting, we have educated 124 designers. This year 16 more join the “ranks” of our IxD graduates. Let’s take a look at IxD by the numbers.
Our program has been busy! From working with industry partners to updating the how to apply page, let’s take a look at some key moments from this year.
Each fall, SMC comes together to provide training and professional guidance. Nicole Chan, IxD program lead, provides the college an update on the IxD program and its progress over the last 8 years. In addition, Nicole, Maxim, and Luke presented a workshop, Careers in the Classroom, to SMC faculty. This workshop focused on the benefits of integrating Industry Partnerships, Mentorships, and Portfolios across a curriculum.
IxD isn't just about the experience, assignments, and projects... It's about the people! Our culture is kind, creative, and ambitious. We learn from each other and grow together as a tight knit cohort.
No experience? No problem. These industry collaborations pushed IxD students to work with stakeholders to research, and deliver designs that addressed key paint points. Giving them the real world experience needed to succeed.
Inspired by Bogotá’s weekly ciclovía, CicLAvia temporarily closes streets to car traffic and opens them to Angelenos to use as a public park. Free for all, CicLAvia connects communities to each other across an expansive city, creating a safe place to bike, walk, skate, roll, and dance through Los Angeles County.
This design challenge asked students to consider a central them: SLOW DOWN! Students were divided into 4 teams and were each given a unique discipline to focus their work on; The Event Goer Experience, Fundraising, Hub Partner Experience, and Documentation. Respectively, they were asked:
1. How might we… encourage event participants to explore all event day activities.
2. How might we… highlight event value for those who don't want to pay, and encourage participation and support for CicLAvia.
3. How might we… create a toolkit for partners to make their event booth's impactful and engaging.
4. How might we… capture stories on event day, and level up the storytelling about the communities events are in.
Recharge, the leading subscription platform dedicated to empowering brands to easily set up and manage subscriptions, is headquartered in Santa Monica just blocks away from SMC’s Center for Media Design Campus where the IxD program is held.
Recharge has partnered with SMC IxD to launch a mentorship program connecting senior students with C-suite executives at Recharge. Through this program, students have attended insightful lectures, met regularly with their mentors, and gained hands-on experience in budget management to bring their capstone projects to life through a physical exhibition.
Let’s see how this culmination of skill building, real world experience, and creative thinking shows up in these students' work.
As a member of the IxD Student Design Team, junior Antonio Renoj compiled a reel showcasing student work. This video highlights the extensive range and quality of projects created by the classes of 2024 and 2025 during their time in the IxD program.
As the Dean of Academic Affairs at Santa Monica College, Dr. Patricia Ramos assists the college by developing partnerships with business, industry, labor, NGO, and other educational institutions, in an effort to align SMC’s career technical education programs to the current and projected workforce needs of the Los Angeles region and the State of California. Her civic engagement spans over two decades. Dr. Ramos has served as an appointed official as a member of the Woman’s Commission and the L.A. County Workforce Development Board. She serves on educational and workforce committees at local, state, and national levels. Dr. Ramos holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California.
Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins: An Emmy award-winning journalist, with decades of experience hosting news, entertainment and educational content across a multitude of media and digital platforms. Blaize-Hopkins is also the interim associate dean of the Center for Media and Design at Santa Monica College and the president of the national Society of Professional Journalists.
Nicole Rife Chan is invested in accessible design education as a medium for positive community impact. She serves as Faculty Lead of the Interaction Design B.S. and Graphic Design Program at Santa Monica College. Nicole held non-profit and corporate design roles involving media, print, and digital before earning her MFA in Media Design Practices at ArtCenter College of Design.
Maxim is a creative technologist and a design educator with experience in multimedia-rich Web applications, interactive installations, and generative computer graphics. He comes with a background in linguistics and audio-video design. His current work centers on new forms of media and emerging interfaces for human-computer interaction. Maxim holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design in New York.
Luke Johnson is an employee engagement strategist and design educator whose portfolio includes work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Nokia, and Riot Games. He collaborates with HR, internal comms, and executives to develop customized products to solve unique, internal problems. Luke holds an MFA in Media Design Practices from ArtCenter College of Design. He currently works as a professor in Graphic Design and Interaction Design at Santa Monica College.
Nicola Vruwink, MFA, is an artist, educator, and designer who is committed to mentoring future creatives. With an extensive background in private postsecondary education, Nicola is committed to making high-quality education more accessible and equitable. She has found her home in the California community college system. Her passion for design and design education fuels her teaching practice; currently, Nicola is full-time faculty in the Graphic Design program at Santa Monica College and maintains her own design studio Poni.
Sheila Cordova, AIA, is dedicated to sustainable urban development and innovative architectural solutions that foster community growth. Sheila’s career spans both public and private sectors, where she has led projects focusing on green building practices and resilient design. Obtaining her Bachelor of Architecture from Iowa State University and her Master in Sustainable Cities and Green Building Technology from Harvard, Sheila worked extensively on urban revitalization projects in underserved areas, emphasizing the importance of inclusive and environmentally conscious design.
As a former community college transfer student and first-generation college graduate, Amanda Garcia is dedicated to advocating for a more equitable and inclusive learning environment that serves all students. Her primary goal as the CMD Counselor is to empower students by highlighting existing strengths, so they can feel confident entering the industry as their authentic selves. Amanda is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at California Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Jeff Gordon comes to IxD with twenty-plus years of experience at Santa Monica College. He was a highly involved student leader at SMC before transferring to Cal State Northridge for his bachelor's degree in radio and television production. He later continued his studies at Loyola Marymount University for his master's degree in counseling. While at SMC he has served in a myriad of areas including classified staff in student services and as counseling faculty in Associated Students, Scholars, General Counseling and Transfer Services, Welcome Center, and Outreach and Recruitment. In his role as IxD project manager Jeff Gordon is focused on increasing the pool of talented applicants with students that come from a multitude of diverse backgrounds. At the center of his approach in working with IxD is a warm and welcoming environment that is inclusive and equitable for our students, faculty, and staff.
Ann Marie came to SMC’s Career Services Center with a background in marketing project management. With several years’ experience hiring artists and designers to execute corporate visions, Ann Marie brings and shares her knowledge on how to stand out and get hired to the IxD Program Students.
Dr. Lea Hald is a professor in the Psychology Department at SMC. She has a doctorate in Psychology with a focus in Cognitive Science, a master’s degree, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Her undergraduate teaching experience includes courses in research methods, statistics, cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, and introduction to psychology. Her recent research focuses on applying embodied pedagogy to improve learning.
Richard Schuler is a Los Angeles-based product designer focused primarily on architectural lighting. His experience also includes work in furniture and consumer products. He has also had his hand in several creative efforts, including collaborating as an illustrator on the internet’s first hypertext novel, Sunshine 69, and the comic novella Dead in Desemboque, as well as a drummer for the post-rock swamp-boogie band, King Kong. Richard holds a Masters of Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design.
Shannon Herbert is a writer and professor in the English Department at SMC. Her dissertation research at The University of Chicago examined the relationship between fiction and the late Twentieth-century fetish for technologically-enhanced objectivity. Both her research and teaching employ feminist and decolonial practices to center the experiences of historically marginalized communities and perspectives.
Diane (aka “D”) Laughton, an alumna of Santa Monica College's Interaction Design program, is the founder of Wheeler Dempsey Studio and Meadow co-working space. Leveraging her degree, Foster has built a career around helping others. At Wheeler Dempsey, she offers research and design services to kickstart businesses and secure funding for startups. At Meadow, she has created a work space that cultivates community and creativity. Her central mission is to foster innovation and empower individuals, providing the essential tools and guidance to bring their ideas to fruition.
Alisa Olinova is a multidisciplinary designer and creative consultant. She is freelancing as an art director, graphic designer, and illustrator. She loves making things come alive through design and art. Formerly at verynice, she has held every role from Design Intern to Design Director; working with 100+ organizations, many of them nonprofits, as well as teaching and speaking about design and social impact.
Guild Copeland is the Co-Founder of Sisu, an award-winning digital design studio based in LA. Guild handles all business development efforts and also serves as the strategic lead for Sisu’s clients, including Disney, DC Comics, American Express, Western Union, and the Grammys. He began his career in Washington, D.C., navigating the high seas of politics after graduating from Yale.
Santa Monica College alumna and adjunct faculty member, Jill DaSilva, is the CEO and Founder of the UX Design agency, Digital Karma. Jill began programming at 8 years old and has been designing digital experiences since the early 2000s. Beyond her consulting work, Jill teaches and speaks globally about User Experience Design, is a mentor for UX Designers, and is an official Adobe XD Instructor.
Sam is a graphic designer and information architect with 18 years of direct hands-on experience in graphic and mobile/web design practice. Sam has an MFA in Graphic Design from OTIS College of Art and Design and a bachelor of science in Biomedical Engineering. Crossing over to Graphic Design with a Mathematics and Engineering background has given Sam the ability to look at communication challenges from a unique perspective. Sam views graphic design as a multidisciplinary practice between “Art” and “System Engineering” plus “Linguistics” with the goal to establish a clear and universally understandable dialogue.
Ben Denzinger is a multi-disciplinary Industrial Designer dedicated to turning client dreams into successful realities. With over 17 years of design experience, he has collaborated with a diverse range of client teams, from Fortune 500 giants to spirited independent entrepreneurs. He holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Georgia Tech, a postgraduate certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the Stanford d.school, and has pursued continuing education through night courses at the Art Center College of Design. Ben is part of the MaCher USA team, based on the sunny streets of Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice Beach, California. MaCher focuses on sustainability and making a positive impact and teams up with brands to help them shine, crafting thoughtful products and solutions that truly reflect their identities. As a certified B Corp and EcoVadis Platinum-rated company, MaCher is committed to using their business as a force for good!
Will Gamez is a multidisciplinary designer/researcher and alumni of the IXD program. Will has leveraged his learnings to construct and facilitate design thinking workshops and organize user research studies that advocate for equitable, human centered design solutions within JPMorgan Chase.
Imani Ritchards is the Director of Product Design at Snap Inc, where she leads a team of passionate and fearlessly creative designers. After earning her BA in Biology from Carleton College, Imani decided to pursue a creative career. She began her journey as a freelance illustrator and eventually returned to school to study Graphic Design and UX Design at Glendale Community College and Santa Monica College. After school, she interned on the Product Design Team at Snap Inc, and the rest is history. Outside of work, Imani loves to dance and get lost in a good book
Chris is a distinguished professional in software development. As the Director of User Experience at Stages Learning, he works at the cutting edge of modern software development, utilizing Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile Development methodologies to deliver high-quality software solutions. Chris's extensive background includes serving as the digital Creative Lead for the Magic+ (Magic Band) project at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, and leading UX and Innovation teams at Fandango.
Maddi Nielsen is a graduating student in the 2024 IxD class! As a designer she enjoys thinking outside the box to create stylish solutions for all kinds of design projects. Using her passion for vintage style as well as her skills in ideation, research, and illustration, she voices a refreshed-retro personality in the world of web design, UI & UX, product design, digital illustration, and branding. She's inspired by her environments as well, be it the natural world or the urbane, and she applies her sense of adventure and optimism in her artistic voice, and is looking forward to bringing this optimism into a collaborative & creative workplace.