Mayor Stimpson Welcomes Auburn University’s 'futures studio' to City of Mobile

Aug 8th, 2017

Mobile, Ala.-- Mayor Stimpson is proud to welcome Auburn University's first innovation studio in the City of Mobile expected to open in the fall of 2017. Named "futures studio", it will be available to assist local businesses and industry with development of new products, packaging, branding, identity and marketing strategies.

A faculty director and fifteen students from Auburn's School of Industrial + Graphic Design will be located in this new Mobile facility to meet and interact with potential community partners.

"I want to thank Auburn University for choosing the City of Mobile to open Futures Studio," said Mayor Stimpson. "This is a tremendous opportunity for students and industry to interact and identify innovative solutions that will strengthen the business community in Mobile. In addition, it will attract talented young people to live and work in the City of Mobile."

Over the past twenty years, the Industrial Design Program in Auburn University's College of Architecture, Design, and Construction has accomplished many curricula based design education and research projects in collaboration with industry and other outside entities.

"We like Mobile because of the recent progressive attitude that exists in the city, and we believe our design students can bring innovative solutions, which will bolster the forward thinking to an even greater level," said Randall Bartlett, Post Baccalaureate Program Chair of Auburn University School of Industrial and Graphic Design. "Our plan is to offer a unique educational experience by immersing our students in the culture that surrounds a particular problem and design a solution that fulfills the need."

Collaborations are approximately fourteen weeks long but can be scaled to accommodate the resources and needs of our collaborating partners. All student expenses are covered by the School of Industrial + Graphic Design.

Activities include the following:

• On site business / industry hosted program orientations.


• Intermediate product development reviews by business / industry based


• Interdisciplinary teams at the Futures Studio site.


• Complete two and three dimensional product research, development and documentation.


• Formal reviews of final design proposals hosted at the site of the collaborating business / industry.


• Delivery of predetermined product outcome to the host business / industry.

Auburn Industrial Design, with assistance from collaborators, attempts to make these experiences replicate the true relationship between an industrial and graphic design team and a business. Often the product outcome will facilitate modifications to an existing or initiate the development of a new product or marketing strategy. To view a video developed by one of our collaborators go to: Mhttps://www.dropbox.com/s/9f2zzk73lqfsami/Auburn%20-%20Pratt%20Innovation%20Video-Fall%202016.m4v?dl=0.