Kate Dannessa is a Providence-based artist, designer and educator. She received her BFA in Industrial Design from RISD and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies at NYU. Since earning her BFA, she has worked for a variety of designers and high-end fabricators in furniture, hardware and lighting. Her studio practice is a space for exploration and focuses on sculptural objects and furniture. Deeply engaged in experimentation, she explores nonlinear methods and their importance to the creative process.
Kate is also a designer with Altimeter Design Group, where she works on projects ranging from public installations to the creation of speculative artifacts, as well as workshop development and facilitation. Whether personal, educational or client-related, each project she takes on centers materiality as a means to enhance experience. Her current research is in embodied cognition and objects as a form of language, provocation and mechanism of understanding. Kate has taught in the Industrial Design departments at RISD and Parsons.
Courses
Fall 2023 Courses
ID 20ST-06 - SPECIAL TOPIC DESIGN STUDIO
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 20ST-06
SPECIAL TOPIC DESIGN STUDIO
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodFall 2023
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TH | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PMInstructor(s): Kate DannessaLocation(s): Industrial Design Building, Room 401Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Juniors take two 3-credit Special Topic Design Studios in the Fall semester. Juniors choose one 3-credit option from the Content category such as Packaging, Typography, Play, or UI/UX, and the other option from the "Process" category such as Casting, Soft Goods or Prototyping. Students will gain multiple competencies by utilizing techniques and methodologies through practice and process. Each studio meets once per week.
Please contact the department for permission to register; registration is not available in Workday.
Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design
ID 2453-01 - WOOD II
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 2453-01
WOOD II
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodFall 2023
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Kate DannessaLocation(s): Industrial Design Building, Room 101Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will deal with advanced woodworking processes, including milling and machinery use, laminate and steam bending, plywood and veneer. Techniques in using natural and synthetic materials connected with furniture will be covered.
Preference is given to Junior Industrial Design Students.
This course will deal with advanced woodworking processes, including milling and machinery use, laminate and steam bending, plywood and veneer. Techniques in using natural and synthetic materials connected with furniture will be covered.
Preference is given to Junior Industrial Design Students.
Major Requirement | BFA Industrial Design
Wood II is a prerequisite for the wood CNC and reciprocating lathe.
Spring 2024 Courses
ID 2455-04 - WOOD I
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ID 2455-04
WOOD I
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIndustrial Design
Subject Industrial Design
PeriodSpring 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: M | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PMInstructor(s): Kate DannessaLocation(s): Industrial Design Building, Room 100Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Philosophically, the ID Department believes that students become better designers when they have an intimate knowledge of a range of natural and synthetic materials. In this course, students will learn about the properties of natural wood and engineered wood-based materials, investigate the related technical processes, and evaluate how this information is both connected to and influenced by the design process. Students will work with materials directly and master skills needed to manipulate these materials. They will develop projects that allow them to engage in the design and development process, promote creativity, problem solving, and the correct use of materials. Facility procedures, safety, and care and use of tools and equipment will be stressed.
Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Industrial Design Students.
