Center for Design, CAMD Northeastern University

Meet our Spring/Summer 2026 Student-in-Residence! 👋 Amelie Eng is a rising junior studying Computer Science and Design in the Northeastern University Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design.

Her residency project, entitled “From Civic to Clinical: A Data Design Residency,” is in partnership with GoInvo and CAMD Co-op, featuring Juhan Sonin and Isabel Dmitruk as mentors. The residency encompasses a variety of data visualization projects that make statistics about healthcare, civic policy, economics and other institutional behavior more readily available and understandable for everyday people.

Keep up the great work, Amelie! Details about the different projects she has worked on so far are available at the link below.

https://camd.northeastern.edu/featured-work/from-civic-to-clinical-a-data-design-residency/

Ken Nakagaki of The University of Chicago's Actuated Experience Lab (AxLab) is visiting the Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design next month to give a talk about his lab’s work. Join us on Thursday, June 11, at 11 a.m. to attend Nakagaki’s presentation about a series of AxLab’s latest research projects. These projects are themed around actuated tools and devices for creativity, tangible and user-agentic interaction with robotic objects mediated via AI, and redefining our relationship with modern computing by adding friction.

Learn more: https://camd.northeastern.edu/events/actuated-experience-with-ken-nakagaki/

Over the past year, the research project in partnership with Scout Labs and the Knox County Health Clinic expanded significantly. After designing the Mobile Health Clinic and envisioning the services it may provide, the team moved on to create wellness kits, a digital dashboard and other health resources.

Check out Scout’s updated website to explore the different stages of this project, linked below.
🔗 https://scout.camd.northeastern.edu/work

Congrats to CfD core faculty member Michael Arnold Mages on the publication of his new book, “Somaesthetic Design!” 📖👏

This book, co-written with Stephen Neely, focuses on the experiencing body as a key source of design knowledge. It draws from embodied practices and performance traditions to give designers a shared vocabulary and framework for understanding, crafting and evaluating lived experience as it is felt and sustained in time.

“Somaesthetic Design” is available in print or open access at the link below. Add it to your summer reading list!

🔗 https://www.transcript-publishing.com/978-3-8376-8128-4/somaesthetic-design/

The Data Sonification Awards have announced the 2025-2026 winners! 🏆

Congratulations to CfD affiliate member Rahul Bhargava for winning in the Arts category with his project, “Data Drums: A Rhythmic Call to Action,” in collaboration with Marcus Santos and Lily Gaba.

The Data Sonification Awards initiative is a collaboration between the Data Sonification Archive, co-founded and co-curated by CfD Founding Director Paolo Ciuccarelli and affiliate member Sara Lenzi, and Duncan Geere from Loud Numbers. The awards recognize and celebrate the remarkable work of researchers and practitioners while promoting best practices across the field.

View the full list of this year’s winners: https://www.sonificationawards.org/winners-2526

The Participatory Budgeting Deliberative Community Conversations research team wrote a chapter in the upcoming book, “Increasing Participatory Engagement through Technology and Design: New Approaches for Participation,” edited by Mari Suoheimo, Jonna Häkkilä and Ravi Mahamuni.

Today, Mari presented the book during the Service Design Working Group session at the Cumulus Athens 2026: Roots/Routes in Design conference. Our research team was invited to participate in the presentation by sharing details about their book chapter.

Thank you for the opportunity, Mari! Keep an eye out for more information about this book, coming in July.

Congrats to the team: Maria Fernanda Ramirez, Estefania Ciliotta, Angelique C-Dina, Michael Arnold Mages

🚨 New article alert! 🚨

Now that the spring semester has ended, the Center for Design team has some time to reflect on the recent installments of our Conversations Series.

This past February, one of our 2025-2026 CfD Bridges Fellows, Myo Chung, led a discussion with Miso Kim about her fellowship project that bridges algorithmic literacy gaps for seniors.

If you missed the event or want to relive the conversation, read our co-op Sisi Wang’s new Medium article for a recap at the link below.

🔗

Algorithmic Literacy and Design for Older Adults CfD Conversations Spring 2026–2 | February 10, 2026

Congrats, grad! 🎓🎉 Ryan Bruggeman, a CfD-sponsored PhD candidate, has successfully defended his dissertation and graduated. His dissertation is entitled, “A Computational Cognitive Theory of Reasoning for Design Problem-Solving,” and he was advised by CfD Founding Director Paolo Ciuccarelli and affiliate member Tucker Marion.

Ryan studied human design problem-solving, developed a theory that captured the observed behavior and used the theory to develop a deep learning architecture to solve design problems. He published several papers and presented at numerous conferences during the duration of his program.

We are so proud of Ryan’s dedication and accomplishments, and his presence in the CfD will be sorely missed! We wish him the best of luck in the next chapter.

View his publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Piye1NoAAAAJ&hl=en

“Space [Between]” is an exhibition designed by graduate students from the Experience Design and Information Design & Data Visualization programs in the Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design. It is on display now through April 30 in the Center for Design! Visit our space in Ryder Hall to explore projects in topics such as hiking safety, optical illusions, Alzheimer’s care, tactile data, dog leash design and more.

Earth Day is the perfect day to share an update on our Students-in-Residence project that tackles pollution in Boston’s Muddy River! 🌎♻️ Our student researchers recently conducted an in-class feedback session for their prototype. They shared their concept, process and early insights with the class and received helpful feedback in return. Keep up the great work, team! 👏