Alumni of the School of the Art Institute have futures in a wide range of design fields and practices. Our alumni value SAIC's interdisciplinary curriculum, emphasis on experimentation, and strong culture of making. Strong relationships with faculty and comfort working in diverse contexts give SAIC alumni the confidence to pursue their interests wherever they may be.
Satya Basu (MArch IA 2015)
Satya Basu is an Advanced Insights Analyst in the Perkins+Will i/o lab. Satya is a designer, strategist and technologist who utilizes his diverse background to respond to design challenges with inventive problem-solving.
Lucas Goldbach (MArch 2013)
Lucas, a licensed architect, has worked in high end residential architecture in the Chicago area at Morgante-Wilson Architects and Massey Associates Architects before joining Mike Shively Architecture in 2016 where he is now the design director of a 10 person boutique studio based in the West Loop.
Ciara Taylor (BFA 2011 Concentration in Designed Objects)
Ciara is a Chicago-based Experience Designer. She applies her knowledge of games and play to design gameful and meaningful experiences to facilitate change and human flourishing in healthcare, financial services, and education.
Tim Fates (MDDO 2014)
Tim Fates is a product designer, entrepreneur, and founder of dotUP, a platform for community, engagement, and personal expression.
Traci Wile (MArch 2011)
Traci Wile is the Director of Community Engagement at OFA (Organizing for Action), in Chicago, IL. She received her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and her Master of Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011.
Laura Kirar (BFA 1993)
Laura Kirar is an internationally renowned designer of product and interiors. From her early beginnings in Chicago, then founding multiple creative ventures in New York City starting with a multi-disciplinary design firm in 1999, Kirar’s design work has taken her all over the globe.
Emily Pilloton (MFA 2005)
Emily Pilloton is a designer, builder, educator, and founder of the nonprofit design agency Project H Design and its sister program, Girls Garage. Using architecture and design as a vehicle for social justice, she works alongside youth ages 9-18 to bring to life public architecture projects that transform lives and communities.
Jaclyn Marcus (MArch IA 2013)
Jaclyn came to SAIC after receiving her BS in Architecture from University at Buffalo. She has always wanted to focus more on interior architecture and the Masters in Architecture with Emphasis in Interior Architecture program allowed her to follow that dream and pursue her specific interest within the vast world of architecture.
Jung Chei (MFA DO 2009)
Jung Chei is an industrial designer based in Boston. After graduating from SAIC in 2009, Jung joined Beyond Design, a Chicago based design consultancy where he worked on various consumer products brands such as Cobra electronics, Waterpik, Fellowes, Zebra and many others. In 2013, he decided to move to the east coast to join SharkNinja as a senior Industrial designer.
Hsi Chen (MDDO 2013)
An object designer based in Chicago, Hsi utilizes simple forms and materials to reveal the complexities embedded in objects. Her work explores the inherent and intrinsic value in the way objects are conceptualized, materialized, perceived, and used.
Rebecca Midden (MArch IA 2010)
Rebecca Midden is a Chicago-based designer with experience in planning, architecture and interiors. In her role as a Senior Designer, Rebecca leads and inspires to ensure exceptional design services for her clients.
Charlie Klecha (MArch IA 2014)
Charlie Klecha brings a broad set of experiences to the support of the design community and associated professional and advocacy organizations, focusing primarily in his hometown of Detroit.
Tanner Bowman (BFA 2015)
Tanner Bowman is a product designer and artist working in Chicago, IL. Bowman has shown his work at Rossana Orlandi in Milan, Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and at Super Design Gallery in London. Bowman was also featured in New City's "Design 50" issue in 2016.
Brendan Post (MArch IA 2011)
Brendan works for SERA Architects in Portland, Oregon, and is a licensed architect and designer in the rapidly expanding Workplace Studio.
Eve Fineman (MFA IA 1998)
Eve Fineman is an award-winning designer based in Chicago. She has been a design educator since 2002, where she is currently an Adjunct Professor of interior architecture and product design at Columbia College Chicago. Eve is the owner of Eve Fineman Design, LLC, a practice whose services include custom furniture and millwork design, as well as interiors and architecture.
Sara DiNoto, IIDA (MFA IA 2005)
Sara DiNoto, IIDA is a senior interior designer and an Associate with Shepley Bulfinch, a national architecture firm known for design excellence and innovation. With offices in Boston, Houston, and Phoenix, the firm provides architecture, planning, and interior design solutions for leading institutions in academics and healthcare, as well as urban development and civic organizations.
Daniel Sommer (BFA 2009)
Daniel Sommer is an industrial designer, maker, and product manager. He has helped companies including Google, MakerBot and Motivate (CitiBike) design, manage, manufacture, and launch new products.
Racquel Davey (MArch IA 2011)
As an architect, Racquel Davey of ICON Architecture is both an optimist and a student of cultural anthropology. She approaches every endeavor with sincere curiosity and the commitment to achieve the best possible outcome. She values the human experience within interior environments and advocates for the design thinking process as well as collaborative design strategies that encompass space planning, furniture systems and technology.
Trevor Lord (BIA 2004)
Trevor Lord is a multi-disciplinary design professional living in Appleton, Wisconsin. Trevor’s design process is based upon discovering key conceptual design drivers, ensuring alignment with a project’s conceptual basis throughout its various phases.
Daniel Whiteneck (MArch 2011)
Daniel Whiteneck is a brand designer with expertise in art direction, graphic design, architectural design and retail design.
Caroline Keem (MFA DET 2005)
After leaving SAIC, Caroline Keem was hired by Interwoven and was mentored in user experience. After six years she left to direct UX & research at Connect EDU, a company specializing in educational software. She currently works for Humana on the online purchase funnel for small business.
