Professor Donald Corey, Director of the Industrial Design program at Appalachian State University, attempts to balance technology with human need and acceptance. Striving for an emotional connection to a product/environment, he has licensed scores of his ideas to international companies for successful production. Integrating this professional experience into the classroom, by exposing students to issues and companies he encounters, often resulting in sponsored studios and internships/employment opportunities for the students. A firm believer in the “learn by doing” method, he teaches classes ranging from Design Drawing, to Junior/Senior level Studios encouraging the students to develop innovative solutions to the problems they identify.

His work has focused on a variety of industries including, architectural, medical, sporting goods, furniture, and gift. That work plus having designs featured at international design events including Salone Satellite in Milan, Italy, Workshopped in Sydney, Australia, CODE in Copenhagen, Denmark and ICFF in New York, USA, has helped give him international recognition. In addition, his work has been highlighted on major design blogs such as Designboom, Core77 and Design*Sponge and in major print publications including Vogue Living, Better Homes and Gardens and “1000 Product Designs” by Eric Chan.