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Alvaro Dominguez is an emotion, a feeling, a movement, your friend and your enemy’s friend, your sister’s husband, that person who can’t eat anything remotely spicy, and the culprit of the extinction of the dinosaurs. He’s the co-founder of the band Scared of Bunnies, with seven albums on Spotify! Seven! And zero Grammys. He is a contributing art director at The New York Times, holds a Red Cross first aid certificate, and is a green belt in taekwondo. He did a Time Magazine cover, and his father reacted by saying, “So what? Nobody knows that magazine.” He has honed his improv skills at Magnet Theater, UCB, and Brooklyn Comedy Collective. Plus, he’s read more than seventeen books in his lifetime.

Those affiliated with Rutgers can watch Alvaro Dominguez’s lecture recording here.

Isometric Studio unites graphic design and architecture to create empowering visual identities and spatial experiences.

“Based in New York City, we collaborate with leading cultural institutions, universities, tech companies, and nonprofits to reinvent the way they present themselves visually and strategically. We express the missions of these organizations through visual identities, exhibitions, websites, and signage programs that convey intellectual rigor, aesthetic sophistication, and memorable storytelling. We believe in design that transcends existing expectations by challenging cliches and stereotypes in visual culture.

In collaboration with our clients, we shape narratives and spaces of belonging. Through design, we advance an ethos of inclusion, equity, and justice, centering the lived experiences of marginalized people. Our projects often address complex social issues, amplifying activism on gender equity, climate change, racial justice, LGBTQ+ identity, and immigrant rights. Our more well-known clients include the USAID, Google, Museum of the City of New York, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. We have also collaborated with 15+ departments and offices at Princeton University.”

Last spring, we had another very successful Design Seminar Lecture Series, with 11 guest speakers giving our undergraduate and graduate students at the Mason Gross School of Art and Design great insights into their journeys as working practitioners navigating through the design industry. We were also very grateful to have all our speakers give their talks in person after a two-year hiatus due to covid, which restricted us to have these talks via Zoom. Our speakers gave the students a lot to think about as we explored how design is interwoven through many disciplines. Many of the speakers discussed the importance of collaboration in design practice and what this could look like. The speakers all had different interests and points of views which allowed for a wide variety of topics covered throughout the 11 weeks, providing inspiration for the students to expand their design practice.

This year we also introduced breakout sessions which were held after the talks with the students that created a community between the MFA and BFA programs. These breakout sessions allowed the students to discuss the talk and expand on what they took away from the lecture, which allowed a space for further enquiry and thinking to how we could implement certain design practices learned from our speakers. We engaged in debates on current topics surrounding the industry today and what they look like for the future of the design practice.

We would like to thank all our guest speakers for giving up their time to share their work and knowledge with us and we look forward to next spring’s Design Lecture Series with a new group of speakers. Stay tuned. 

Guest Speakers Spring 2023:

Asad Pervaiz, Talia Cotton, Stephanie Schapowal, Orkan Telhan, Nicole Killian, Eric Zimmerman, Joe Marianek, Yasaman Sheri, Anastasiia Raina, Chris Rypkema. 

A conversation with Mimi Onuoha and Assistant Professor Mindy Seu.