Mickey Ackerman

Professor
Image
a photo portrait of RISD faculty member Mickey Ackerman
BS, Skidmore College
MID, Rhode Island School of Design

Internationally recognized design and project leader Mickey Ackerman has spent decades teaching designers how to define problems clearly and then solve those problems through multidisciplinary teamwork. A former head of RISD’s Industrial Design department, Ackerman established a portfolio of sponsored projects and created real-world design solutions for industry leaders such as Intel, Rubbermaid, Frigidaire and General Mills. He also established strategic partnerships with the Harvard Business School, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, NASA and Boston’s Center Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology, among many others.

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

FOUND 1005-16 - STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Experimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FOUND 1005-16

STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Experimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: F | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM; F | 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM Instructor(s): Mickey Ackerman Location(s): What Cheer Studios, Room 102 Enrolled / Capacity: 21 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Studio: Spatial Dynamics is a studio-based inquiry into physical, spatial and temporal phenomena. The study of Spatial Dynamics is rooted in the necessity to consider forces and their effects on structure. Force is the consequence of energy. In Spatial Dynamics the energy and resultant forces are studied in actual motion, stability, and materiality. The structures of physical, spatial and temporal phenomena are studied through additive, subtractive, transformative, iterative, and ephemeral processes both analog and digital. Mediums and materials that are commonly explored and utilized have a broad range of characteristics due to their organic and synthetic sources. Most assignments utilize methods such as preliminary sketches and diagrams in research, planning, and experimental processes. Assignments reference the histories and theories of art and design and include areas of inquiry that extend to disciplines such as the sciences, music, dance, film, and theater.

Enrollment is limited to first-year Undergraduate Students.

Major Requirement | BFA

FOUND 1005-02 - STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Experimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FOUND 1005-02

STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Experimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: W | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM; W | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Instructor(s): Mickey Ackerman Location(s): What Cheer Studios, Room 102 Enrolled / Capacity: 20 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Studio: Spatial Dynamics is a studio-based inquiry into physical, spatial and temporal phenomena. The study of Spatial Dynamics is rooted in the necessity to consider forces and their effects on structure. Force is the consequence of energy. In Spatial Dynamics the energy and resultant forces are studied in actual motion, stability, and materiality. The structures of physical, spatial and temporal phenomena are studied through additive, subtractive, transformative, iterative, and ephemeral processes both analog and digital. Mediums and materials that are commonly explored and utilized have a broad range of characteristics due to their organic and synthetic sources. Most assignments utilize methods such as preliminary sketches and diagrams in research, planning, and experimental processes. Assignments reference the histories and theories of art and design and include areas of inquiry that extend to disciplines such as the sciences, music, dance, film, and theater.

Enrollment is limited to first-year Undergraduate Students.

Major Requirement | BFA

Spring 2024 Courses

FOUND 1006-21 - STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Experimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FOUND 1006-21

STUDIO: SPATIAL DYNAMICS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Experimental and Foundation Studies
Subject Foundation Studies
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: W | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM; W | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Instructor(s): Mickey Ackerman Location(s): What Cheer Studios, Room 101 Enrolled / Capacity: 20 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Studio: Spatial Dynamics is a studio-based inquiry into physical, spatial and temporal phenomena. The study of Spatial Dynamics is rooted in the necessity to consider forces and their effects on structure. Force is the consequence of energy. In Spatial Dynamics the energy and resultant forces are studied in actual motion, stability, and materiality. The structures of physical, spatial and temporal phenomena are studied through additive, subtractive, transformative, iterative, and ephemeral processes both analog and digital. Mediums and materials that are commonly explored and utilized have a broad range of characteristics due to their organic and synthetic sources. Most assignments utilize methods such as preliminary sketches and diagrams in research, planning, and experimental processes. Assignments reference the histories and theories of art and design and include areas of inquiry that extend to disciplines such as the sciences, music, dance, film, and theater.

Enrollment is limited to first-year undergraduate students.

Major Requirement | BFA

Image
a photo portrait of RISD faculty member Mickey Ackerman
BS, Skidmore College
MID, Rhode Island School of Design