Welcome to Ion Design Labs. For the fall of 2018, Nathan Dawdy and Dr. Lisa Wilkinson pool their expertise to bring a design philosophy class to Nebraska Wesleyan University. Nathan Dawdy, Creative Director of Ion Design Company, is an alumni of Nebraska Wesleyan University and self-made designer. Dr. Wilkinson has a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of South Florida, with about twenty-five years of experience in the field. Her interests lie in ancient philosophy. Together, Nathan and Dr. Wilkinson create a course to dive into the philosophy of design and specific designers, as well as assist in the design growth of students.

Students in Ion Design Labs are welcome to grow as academics in philosophy, but more importantly, grow as designers. With a range of majors and career goals, no one student is the same. Neither will the design. Each design varies by the person, and no one design will ever be the same. Each designer has a purpose and a goal, and the purpose of Nathan and Dr. Wilkinson is to guide them to the goal. 

The first four weeks have passed of the class, and a few designers, schools, and businesspeople have been discussed. The BauHaus in Germany was the first design school and took off drastically. Many designers are now influenced by the BauHaus. Dieter Rams, a student of the BauHaus, is one of the first designers with a strict philosophy presented in class. Rams has ten rules that dictate what good design is. In order to understand how to view things differently, the class studied Malcom McLean. McLean reinvented shipping in the 1930s. Nathan and Dr. Wilkinson are giving the students tools to create, innovate, and stimulate the minds of their peers.

This lab is about growth as a person, a designer, an artist, a businessperson, a group. Join us on this journey.