Alex Lobos
School Director
School of Design
College of Art and Design
585-475-7417
Office Location
Alex Lobos
School Director
School of Design
College of Art and Design
Bio
Alex Lobos focuses in design, technology, neurodiversity, and emotional attachment as means to elevate quality of life. He is Professor and Director of School of Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, in upstate New York. He is also a Visiting Fellow Emeritus at software company Autodesk, exploring the future of learning. Alex’s research covers several areas, including emotional design, sustainability, computer-aided design and interdisciplinary collaboration. These efforts have been funded by companies such as Autodesk, AT&T, Colgate-Palmolive, General Electric, Kraft, Makerbot, Staples, Stryker, Sun Products, Unilever and Wegmans. He lectures and teaches frequently throughout Europe, Asia, North and Latin America. Alex is recipient of the Eisenhart Award, RIT’s highest recognition for teaching excellence. He is member of the Advisory Council for Autodesk University, has been a juror for the International Design Excellence (IDEA) Awards, Core77 Awards and the Ibero-American Design Biennial, and has also worked as industrial designer for General Electric. Alex was born in Guatemala, where he started his career as industrial designer, and in 2002 moved to the U.S. as a Fulbright scholar. He holds a MFA from the University of Notre Dame and a BID from Universidad Rafael Landivar. He loves playing drums, long-distance running, and spending time with his family.
585-475-7417
Areas of Expertise
Industrial Design
Sustainable Design
Graphic Design
User-centered Design
Access/Healthcare Technology
Product and Service Design
Design Research
3D Printing
Computer-aided Design
Generative Design
Neurodiversity
Select Scholarship
Invited Keynote/Presentation
Lobos, Alex and Daniela Steinsapir. "A Collaborative Framework for Role-based Credentialing Systems." AMPS Teaching Learning Research Conferecene. University of Manchester. Manchester, UK. 5 Dec. 2020. Conference Presentation.
Lobos, Alex. "Disenando el Futuro." Festival Vertice. Universidad Rafael Landivar. Guatemala, Guatemala. 7 Sep. 2020. Keynote Speech.
Lobos, Alex. "Design and Identity." Lens. Advanced Design. Chicago, IL. 29 Jul. 2020. Guest Lecture.
Lobos, Alex. "Digital Tangible." UFM Design Week. Universidad Francisco Marroquin. Guatemala, Guatemala. 15 Feb. 2019. Keynote Speech.
Lobos, Alex. "Diseño Generativo: Combinando naturaleza y tecnología." Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño. DI Madrid. Madrid, Spain, Spain. 28 Nov. 2018. Lecture.
Lobos, Alex. "Diseñando Tradiciones, Tecnología y Durabilidad." Jornadas del Diseño. Universidad Rafael Landivar. Guatemala, Guatemala. 8 Sep. 2016. Keynote Speech.
Lobos, Alex. "Life, Behavior and Death in Sustainable Design." Fabrica Design Research Centre. Fabrica Design Research Centre. Treviso, Italy. 20 Jan. 2016. Lecture.
Lobos, Alex. "Sustainability and Emotional Attachment in Design at RIT." University of Ferrara. University of Ferrara. Ferrara, Italy. 26 Jan. 2016. Lecture.
Lobos, Alex. "Integrating Design and Emotion." 5th International Conference UDESIGN. Universidad de Monterrey. Monterrey, Mexico. 3 Mar. 2014. Conference Presentation.
Lobos, Alex. "Design, Emotion and Sustainability." Workshop on Emotional Design. Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. Lima, Peru. 24 Mar. 2014. Keynote Speech.
Frear, Lorrie, Alex Lobos, and Sandra Turner. "A Model for Trans-Disciplinary Collaboration in Packaging Design." International Conference on Design Principles and Practices. University of California Los Angeles. Los Angeles, CA. 21 Jan. 2012. Conference Presentation.
Lobos, Alex. "Connecting Sustainability and Design." Workshop on Sustainable Design. National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. NTUST, Taipei, Taiwan, CH. 4 Aug. 2011. Keynote Speech.
Invited Article/Publication
Lobos, Alex. "Advanced Direct Modeling in T-Splines and Parametric Design." Autodesk University. (2020). Web.
Shows/Exhibits/Installations
Lobos, Alex. Spiral Table Lamp. 25 Nov. 2020. Ibero American Design Biennial, Madrid, Spain. Exhibit.
Published Conference Proceedings
Lobos, Alex, Stan Rickel, and Felipe Castañeda. "Tangible sketching with 3D printing." Proceedings of the International Design Conference & Education Symposium. Ed. IDSA. Chicago, IL: n.p., 2019. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Applying Generative Systems to Product Design." Proceedings of the Generative Art Conference, Italy. Ed. Celestino Soddu and Enrica Colabella. Rome, Italy: n.p., 2019. Print.
Lobos, Alex and Keqing Song. "Innovative Designs and Procedural Patterns with Fusion 360 and Maya." Proceedings of the Autodesk University. Ed. Autodesk. Las Vegas, NV: n.p., 2019. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Advanced Rendering in Fusion 360: Photorealistic Visual Storytelling." Proceedings of the Autodesk University. Ed. Autodesk. Las Vegas, NV: n.p., 2019. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Finding Balance in Generative Product Design." Proceedings of the Norddesign 2018: Design in the era of digitalization. Ed. Simon Schutte. Linköping, Sweden, Sweden: n.p., 2018. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Next level design workflows in Fusion 360." Proceedings of the Autodesk University. Ed. Autodesk. Las Vegas, NV: n.p., 2018. Web.
Lobos, Alex and Felipe Castaneda. "3D printers as sketchbooks: a guide to tangible iterative design." Proceedings of the Educause 2018. Ed. Educause. Denver, CO: n.p., 2018. Web.
Lobos, Alex and Tim Wood. "Statefulness and Tangible Interaction in Industrial Design Education." Proceedings of the Industrial Designers Society of America. Ed. Scott Shim. Atlanta, GA: n.p., 2017. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Redefining Sustainability Potential in Product Design." Proceedings of the Cumulus REDO Conference. Ed. Anne Louise Bang, Mette Mikkelsen, and Anette Flinck. Kolding, Denmark, DK: Cumulus, 2017. Print.
Lobos, Alex and David Villarreal. "Organic Shapes the Easy Way: Direct Modeling in Fusion 360." Proceedings of the Autodesk University. Las Vegas, NV. Ed. Autodesk. San Francisco, CA: Autodesk, 2017. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Beyond Death: Using Design to Transcend Life, Memories and Traditions." Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Design and Emotion. Ed. Pieter Desmet, et al. Amsterdam, Netherlands: n.p., 2016. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "T-Splines Modeling and Photorealistic Rendering in Fusion 360." Proceedings of the Autodesk University. Ed. Autodesk. Las Vegas, NV: n.p., 2016. Web.
Lobos, Alex. "Timelessness in Product Design." Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Design and Emotion. Ed. Juan Salamanca et.al. Bogota, Colombia: Universidad de los Andes, 2014. Web.
Book Chapter
Ryen, Erinn G., Callie W. Babbitt, and Alex Lobos. "Life cycle thinking and sustainable design for emerging consumer electronic product systems." routledge handbook of sustainable design. Ed. Rachel Beth Egenhoefer. New, York: Taylor & Francis, 2017. 148-169. Print.
Lobos, Alex. "Mending broken promises in sustainable design." Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Product Design. Ed. Jonathan Chapman. Abingdon, OX: Taylor & Francis, 2017. 145-159. Print.
Journal Paper
Lobos, Alex and Callie Babbitt. "Integrating Emotional Attachment and Sustainability in Electronic Product Design." Challenges - Special Issue: Electronic Waste 4. 1 (2013): 19-33. Web.
Provisional Patent
Colaprete, Domenico, et al. "Laundry Cleaning Product." Patent 20130326996 A1. 5 Jan. 2014.
Currently Teaching
IDDE-301
Junior ID Studio I
3 Credits
Students will explore the benefits and challenges of working with a design team to address a complex product, problem, or system. Students will explore group dynamics, creativity in design teams, as well as the nature of complex problems and the various methods required to solve them.
IDDE-698
Industrial Design Internship
1 - 6 Credits
The Industrial Design Internship provides students the option to work in the industrial design field. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Internship Permission Form to enroll.
IDDE-887
Industrial Design Part-Time Co-op
0 Credits
Cooperative Education will provide Industrial Design students with hands-on experience in their field, directly related to a student’s major with an established studio or related business. Students will need to apply for co-ops, and interview as part of the selection process, based on available positions posted by the Co-op and Career Services Office, or found through the students’ own research. In programs where co-op is a degree requirement, students must obtain permission of their program or graduate director prior to enrollment. Co-ops are typically paid work experience, and can be part-time (150-479 total hours within the term), or full-time (480+ hours within the term). Co-ops may be one or two consecutive terms - fall, spring, or summer – with department permission.
IDDE-892
Continuation of Thesis Industrial Design
0 Credits
The Industrial Design Continuation of Thesis course provides student additional semester(s) to complete their thesis research, project, and thesis document.