Lisa Smith and Peter Oyler
Moderated by Helen Maria Nugent, Professor and Chair of the Designed Objects Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Lisa Cheng Smith is Chief Design Officer at Areaware, a design brand based in New York City. She works with independent designers to bring their ideas into production, and is involved in all aspects of commercialization, from concept selection to distribution.
In 2009, she founded Object Design League (ODL) with Caroline Linder, mounting a series of exhibitions, workshops, and pop-up shops in support of the Chicago design scene. Eventually, ODL transformed into ODLCO, a manufacturing company that grew out of the desire to bring products to market as a primary way of supporting design. Their first product, the Wabi Nabe cast iron pot by Gabriel Hargrove, was launched in 2011, marking a shift in professional focus from design to production. Throughout her career, she has taught design courses at SAIC (2009-2014) and MIT (2016). Lisa earned a BS from MIT in 2004 and an MDes from SAIC in 2008.
