Matthew Wizinsky is Associate Professor of Urban Technology in the Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning at the University of Michigan; Associate Editor for the design journal Visible Language; Principal Designer studio junglecat; PhD researcher in Transition Design at Carnegie Mellon University; and author of the book Design After Capitalism (MIT Press, 2022)

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︎ Summary

Matthew Wizinsky is a designer, educator, researcher, and author on contemporary interaction and communication design. He studied graphic design and design research at the University of Cincinnati (BS), the University of Illinois at Chicago (MFA), and the Institute of Visual Communication in Basel, Switzerland and holds professional certification in strategic foresight from the University of Houston. Wizinsky has over 20 years of professional design experience, including design and consulting for digital start-ups, international commercial agencies, and in-house studios for major cultural institutions. He established studio junglecat an independent studio and consultancy in Chicago in 2009.
    Wizinsky has provided design and consulting services for organizations such as Google, IX Strategy, and the Media Arts, Data & Design Lab at the University of Chicago; he has curated, organized, and designed exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center, Virginia Museum  of Fine Arts, and Cincinnati Art Museum; he has contributed lectures and projects toMilan Design Week (2022), Exhibit Columbus (2019), the Venice Architecture Biennale (2018), and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (2014).
  Wizinsky’s interdisciplinary collaborations have included work with researchers in Architecture, Social Sciences, Digital Humanities, and Public Health. His research, scholarship, and creative works have been awarded, exhibited, published, and presented internationally. Wizinsky has participated in research and practice-based projects supported by approximately US$1.5 million in grants, commissions, sponsored projects, and studios, including support from the Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Humanities Without Walls, MAC Cosmetics AIDS Fund, and others.
   In 2023, Wizinsky joined the founding faculty of the Urban Technology program at the Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning. His responsibilities include developing new curriculum for this first-of-its-kind undergraduate program as well as teaching Interaction Design and Design Research methods in the context of cities, data, and technology.
    From 2015–2023, Wizinsky was an Associate Professor at the Ullman School of Design at the University of Cincinnati. He served as Director of Graduate Studies for the Master of Design (MDes) program 2022–2023. At Cincinnati, he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in design research methods, interaction design, UX design, communication design, and design history. He also led curricular development in practice-based strategic foresight, speculative design, interaction design with augmented reality, generative design, and Honors Courses in transdisciplinary research on urban and digital futures.  
     From 2012–2015 Wizinsky held dual teaching & research appointments at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). At UIC’s Innovation Center, Wizinsky was Founding Director of the Responsive Media Lab. He led research collaborations with the Colleges of Medicine, Engineering, Business, and Learning Sciences that resulted in externally funded research, patents, and curricular offerings working with partners including the City of Chicago, Morningstar financial services, Ford Motor Company, Baxter medical products, Herman Miller, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Arts Alliance of Illinois to name a few.
    Wizinsky is an Associate Editor for Visible Language, the oldest peer–reviewed academic journal for design, in publication since 1967.
    Since 2021, he has been PhD researcher in Transition Design at Carnegie Mellon University, with an anticipated completion date of 2025.
    Wizinsky’s first book Design After Capitalism was published by the MIT Press in 2022. The book diagnoses challenges for design practices operating in an evolving information and service economy and proposes a modified disciplinary model, blending design entrepreneurship with social empowerment. To support the book, he produced the accompanying website designaftercapitalism.org, which contains a variety of tools to help put the ideas in the book to work—both in study and in practice. Study tools include lecture videos, recommended readings, a Reader’s Guide, and a Teacher’s Guide. Practice tools include many case studies and an extensive list of practical guidelines.

︎ Curriculum Vitae overview

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy, Transition Design, Carnegie Mellon University / 2025 (anticipated)

Master of Fine Arts, Graphic Design; University of Illinois at Chicago / 2012

Bachelor of Science, Graphic Design; University of Cincinnati / 2001

Certificate: Strategic Foresight; University of Houston, College of Technology / 2019

Certificates: Design Inquiry, Type Design, Poster Design; Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst, Institute of Visual Communication, Basel, Switzerland / 2011


ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2023–PRESENT
University of Michigan
Clinical Associate Professor of Architecture & Urban Planning; Urban Technology

2015–PRESENT
University of Cincinnati

2022–PRESENT

Graduate Program Director, Master of Design (MDes).


2018–PRESENT

Associate Professor, Ullman School of Design, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning. Teaching appointments in Communication Design, Master of Design, and Honors College programs.
2015–2018
Assistant Professor

2019–PRESENT
Visible Language
Associate Editor. Visible Language is the oldest peer-reviewed journal of design, in publication since 1967

2012–2015
University of Illinois at Chicago
2013–2015
Assistant Professor, School of Design, College of Architecture, Design & the Arts.
2012–2013
Visiting Assistant Professor
2012–2015
UIC Innovation Center. Research Specialist & Director, Responsive Media Lab,


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2009–PRESENT
Principal & Designer, Studio Junglecat, Chicago, IL & Cincinnati, OH

2007–2009  —
Senior Graphic Designer, FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati, OH

2003–2007 —
Exhibition Designer & Department Head (Design), Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH

2001–2002
Interaction Designer, Hyperquake, Cincinnati, OH



RESEARCH PROJECTS

2016–2021
I’m Still Surviving. Brier, J. & Wizinsky, M.
partnerships: STAR Program, State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate, Womens’ Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) Chicago, WIHS University of North Carolina. funding: MAC Cosmetics AIDS Fund ($70,000). status: active

2017–2021
Transmedia Collage. Jagoda, P., Brier, J., Rhyne, M., Wizinsky, M., Ridley, C., Bennett, I. & Kater, G.
partnerships: Ci3 Lab, University of Chicago; African American Cultural Center, University of Illinois at Chicago; Arts Incubator, University of Chicago. funding: Humanities Without Walls Consortium, “The Work of the Humanities in a Changing Climate” (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, $110,000). status: active

2020
Site-Specific Interactive Environmental Data Objects in Augmented Reality, NordiCHI 2020. Wizinsky, M. & Ayoade, A. status: finished

2019—2020
Collaborative Curation Tool. Wizinsky, M. & Mann, N. partnerships: UC Digital Scholarship Center. funding: Catalyst Award ($10,000), UC Digital Scholarship Center. (Mellon Foundation). status: finished

2019
The Long Now, Exhibit Columbus 2019. Lally, S. & Wizinsky, M. funding: Exhibit Columbus, University Design Research Fellowship ($10,000). status: finished

2019
Anti-OD. Rebola, C. & Wizinsky, M.
partnerships: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, University of Cincinnati College of DAAP. status: finished

2018–2019
What Is and What Can Be: Women of Color and the Struggle for Justice in Cincinnati, Malat, J., Webb, C., Sadre-Orafai, S., Wizinsky, M. & Aijaz, M. partnerships: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Reverb Art & Design, YWCA, Findlay Market. funding: People’s Liberty ($7,500), Seasongood Good Government Foundation ($19,408), Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Taft Research Center. status: finished

2018
Alchemy, Venice Architecture Biennale. Bohling, T., Probst, R., Palazzo, D., Wizinsky, M. & Giraondola, J. partnerships: Rookwood Pottery Co., Formica Corp., & Gorilla Glue Co. funding: Simpson Center for Urban Futures. status: finished

2018
UC Digital Scholarship Center, Institutional Support. Lee, J., & Jonston, A., Task force member, capabilities presentation & Catalyst Award grantee. funding: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation ($900,000). status: finished.

2017
Urban Futures at the Scale of the Human Body, IASDR 2017. Wizinsky, M., Rahman, M. & Campos, J. funding: University of Cincinnati, Office of the Provosot ($7,500). status: finished

2014–2016
In Plain Sight. Brier, J., Wizinsky, M. partnerships: Womens’ Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) Chicago, Chicago Public Library, Pop-Up Justice Art Center. funding: The Nathan Cummings Foundation ($5,000). status: finished

2016
Instrument112, Lumenocity 2016. Wizinsky, M. & Groom, T. partnerships: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Lightborne Communications, Procter & Gamble. funding: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra ($50,000). status: finished

2015
iPhone Rapid Digitization, Applications and Workflows. Wizinsky, M. & Nichols, J. funding: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Arts & Humanities Award ($10,000). status: finished

2015
Drowsy Driver. Pfanner, P., Wizinsky, M. & Clark, M. partnerships: UIC College of Medicine, UIC College of Engineering, UIC Innovation Center. funding: UIC Sleep Science Center ($50,000). status: finished

2014
Pop Swipe Cinema: Mobile Interactive Touch-Screen Cinema. Wizinsky, M. & Mulder, D. funding: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Arts & Humanities Award ($10,000). status: finished

2014
Chicagoisms, Art Institute of Chicago. Mekinda, J., Eisenschmidt, A., Wizinsky, M. & Kice, K. partnerships: Art Institute of Chicago, UIC School of Architecture, UIC Innovation Center. funding: Graham Foundation, Art Institute of Chicago, UIC School of Architecture. status: finished

2013–2014
Not in the Yearbooks. Brier, J., Flohr, J. & Wizinsky, M. partnerships: UIC Innovation Center, Chicago Public Schools, Read/Write Library, Chicago. funding: Chancellor’s Discovery Grant, UIC ($38,924). status: finished

2012–2013
ecoCollage. Lyons, L., Zellner, M., Minor, E., Moher, T., Pellegrino, J., Goldman, S., Shelley, T., Slattery, B., Dasgupta, C. & Wizinsky, M. partnerships: UIC Learning Sciences Institute, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago, UIC Innovation Center. funding: NSF REESE Award. status: finished

2012–2013
BikeDX. Niderberger, C., Hotaling, J., Pfanner, P., Wizinsky, M. & Clark, M. partnerships: UIC College of Medicine, UIC Innovation Center, SRAM Corporation. status: finished

2012
C-Spot: Future of Campus Computer Labs. Starr, A., Wizinsky, M. partnerships: Academic Computing & Communications. funding: Academic Computing & Communications , UIC Innovation Center. status: finished

2011–2012
Operating Room of the Future. Niderberger, C., Hotaling, J., Pfanner, P., Starr, A., Wizinsky, M. & Clark, M. partnerships: UIC College of Medicine, UIC Innovation Center. funding: UIC College of Medicine. status: finished


PUBLICATIONS

Wizinsky, M. (2022) Design After Capitalism, book, MIT Press (in press).

Brier, J. & Wizinsky, M. (2021) “Worlds of Signification: Power and Subjectivity in Global AIDS Posters,” book chapter in Graphic Design and Global Health, Donald Albrecht (ed.), RIT Press (in press).

Wizinsky, M. & Ayoade, A. (2020) “The Long Now: Site-specific interactive environmental data objects in augmented reality.” ACM Conference Proceedings of NordiCHI 2020. (in press).

Wizinsky, M. (2019) “South Side Speculations: Designing Public Histories & Public Futures on Chicago’s South Side.” Proceedings of IASDR 2019.

Wizinsky, M., Mann, N., Lee, J., McCabe, E., Avant, J. & Arthur, G. (2019) “Curatorial Groupware; Designing Collaborative Curation Tools for Public Exhibition of Community-Built Archives.” Proceedings of IASDR 2019.

Han, T. & Wizinsky, M. (2019) “The Furniture of Science Fiction: Studying Audience Cognitive Mechanisms to Understand how Designed Objects Convey Social Ideas through the Semantic Differential Method.” Proceedings, IASDR 2019.

Wizinsky, M. (2019) “Speculative City: Critical Speculation in Defense of Design’s Material Expertise.” Dialectic, 2(2): 23–46. Published by the AIGA Design Educators Community (DEC ) and University of Michigan Publishing.

Rebola, C. & Wizinsky, M. (2019) “Design as Understanding [&/or the Varieties of Research by Design].” Proceedings of Decipher 2018: AIGA Design Education Conference.

Wizinsky, M. (2019) “Violence, Vulnerability, & Care: Participatory Design in Public History and Public Health Toward a Model of Translational Design Research.” Design for Health 3(2): 4–26. DOI: 10.1080/24735132.2019.1583400

Wizinsky, M. (2019) “Design After Capitalism,” invited blog post for AIGA Design Educators Community.

Wizinsky, M. (2017) “Violence, Vulnerability & Care: A Women’s History of HIV in America.” Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Design4Health, Kurt Seemann & Deirdre Barron (eds.).

Wizinsky, M. (2017) “Dread & Desire: Urban Futures at the Scale of the Human Body.” IASDR 2017 Exhibition Catalog. Scholar@UC: 16 pp. DOI: 10.7945/C2BD6W

Brier, J. & Wizinsky, M. (2016) “History Moves: Mobilizing Public Histories in Post-Digital Space.” Scholarly and Research Communication, 7(2), 2016: 13 pp. DOI: 10.22230/src.2016v7n2/3a248

Wizinsky, M. (2016) “Conflict Interfaces: Mediated Meditations on Desire, Fear, and Anxiety” in Design, User Experience, and Usability: Novel User Experiences, LNCS 9747, Aaron Marcus ed., Springer-Verlag, 2016: 86–97.

Wizinsky, M. (2015) “Touch Here to Begin: Paper Interfaces and Legible Circuits,” Scholarly and Research Communication, 5(2), 2014: 9 pp. DOI: 10.22230/src.2014v5n2a155


 RECENT PRESS & INTERVIEWS

McKenzie, P. (2022). Episode 119: Design after Capitalism with Matthew Wizinsky. The Deep Dive (podcast).  

Digital Society School. (2022). Episode 18: Interview with Matthew Wizinsky. Dear Future, I’m Ready (podcast).

Brady, A. (2020). “An Interview with Sean Lally and Matthew Wizinsky.” The Center for Sustainable Practices in the Arts.

Poggio, N. (2019).  Design Educator Profiles: Matthew Wizinsky, AIGA Design Educators Community.

Blair, B. (2019). Building architecture and relationships: Exhibit Columbus’ beauty includes 1,000-plus volunteers. The Public.

Royzman, V. (2019). “How can you help stem the opioid crisis? Interactive exhibit touring libraries offers answers.” Cincinnati Enquirer.

Testado, J. (2018). “Exhibit Columbus awards six University Design Research Fellowships for 2018-19.” Archinect.

Reilly, M.B. (2018). “Cincinnati to Venice.” LEAD Magazine. 

Alejandro, J. (2016). Interview with Matthew Wizinsky. Dissection (podcast).
 
Schefft, M. (2016). “Dazzling display: UC students and faculty create giant musical playground for LUMENOCITY.” UC Magazine.x

Kaufman, G. (2016). “Lumenocity 2016: Expect new venue and producers, eye-popping art” WCPO Cincinnati.

Alewine, M. & MacNeil, E. (2016). “In Plain Sight: shining a spotlight on women living with HIV.” AIDS Foundation Chicago.

Rote, L. (2016). “Kartemquin Films celebrates 50 years of documentary filmmaking.” Time Out Chicago.

Sarabia, T. (2016). “UIC Exhibit Shares Stories of Chicago-area Women Living With HIV.” WBEZ Morning Shift.

Riley, C. (2016). “HIV Positive Chicago Women Share Oral Histories in New UIC Exhibit.” WTTW Chicago Tonight.

“Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago 2014,”NewCity.