from left to right, front row: Dora Sapunar, Lindsay Reichart, Chen-Yu Lo, Sarah Lillenberg, Gigi Polo, Tia Remington-Bell; second row: Weiwen Cai, Salem Tsegaye, Kamala Murali, Divia Padayachee. Photo: Susan Yelavich

Congratulations to the first class of Design Studies students to receive their Master of Arts Degree from Parsons. And special kudos to Dora Sapunar for giving the graduation address.

The Class of 2014 produced a rich and diverse range of Capstones, which are listed next to their names below.  We, your faculty, wish each and everyone of them all the very best and we look forward to hearing of your future accomplishments.

Susan Yelavich, Associate Professor, Director, MA Design Studies
Clive Dilnot, Professor of Design Studies
Jilly Traganou, Associate Professor, Spatial Studies

Weiwen Cai
A Vinyl Wall of Dreams: A Critical Appraisal of the Phenomenon and Collection of Adult Toys

Sarah Lillenberg
Navigating Participatory Design through the Cultural Identity of idBrooklyn

Chen-Yu Lo, Cross-School Scholar Award
Service Design for Public Services 

Kamala Muralli,
Redrawing the Boundaries of Craft in India

Divia Padayachee
Let’s Talk ‘Unconventional’: The Perception of Design in Mass Media, Post World War II to Present

Lindsay Reichart
The Dispossession of Capital: The Role of Design as Agency

Tia Remington-Bell
Mapping the Gaps From Design Methodology to Design Thinking

Nibera Lluberes Rincon
Osmotic Bubble: Creative Insight by Dint of Synchronized Atmospheres 

Dora Sapunar, Departmental Honors
Consuming Socialism: Fairs, Interiors and Identity Formation in Socialist Yugoslavia

Salem Tsegaye, Departmental Honors
Temple to Forum by Design: The Evolution of the Queens Museum’s Social and Spatial Dimensions