Department of Design Highlight: 2026 Online Senior Shows
Check out the online senior shows of designers in each of the four major programs in the Department of Design: Communication Design concentrations in Graphic Design and User-Experience Design, Fashion Design and Interior Design.
Read about each designer and see the projects that culminated in their 2026 walk across the stage with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Graphic Design students develop strategic visual communication skills across branding, typography, publication, motion and digital media — preparing them to shape the future of design across industries and platforms.
User-Experience Design students create user-centered digital experiences through UX/UI design, research, prototyping and emerging technologies in one of the nation’s leading programs in the field.
Fashion Design students bring original collections to life through concept development, garment construction and runway presentation while building the technical and creative skills needed for today’s fashion industry.
Interior Design students design spaces that support human experience, sustainability and innovation through hands-on studio learning and real-world projects.
Explore the future of design through the work of UNT CVAD’s Class of 2026. Link in bio.
#UNTCVAD #UNTdesign #GraphicDesign #UxD #FashionDesign #InteriorDesign
Studio Art: Sculpture Alumna Highlight: Verónica Ibargüengoitia Tena receives the 2026 Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art.
Ibargüengoitia Tena was selected from a record pool of 160 applicants and is among 21 artists recognized statewide this year. Through its Awards to Artists program, the DMA awarded nearly $42,000 to Texas artists ages 16 to 55, including 16 artists based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The grant will support Ibargüengoitia Tena’s research trip to the Mexico–U.S. border, where she will study the spatial, administrative, and material conditions surrounding detention, deportation and repatriation.
“I am particularly drawn to the moment of forced return: when individuals who have lived, worked, and formed lives in one country are abruptly repositioned within another, often without guidance, resources, or a clear path toward resettlement,” Ibargüengoitia Tena said. “These transitions expose the contrast between human resilience and the inflexibility of state systems designed to manage movement rather than care for people.”
AWARDEE CELEBRATION
May 19, 6 to 8 p.m.
Dallas Museum of Art
1717 N. Harwood St., Dallas, TX 75201
Presentation: Horchow Auditorium
Reception: Hamon Atrium
The event is free and open to the public
#UNTCVAD #VerónicaIbargüengoitiaTena #UNTsculpture #DallasMuseumofArt #ConceptualArt
@veronica_ibarguengoitia_art
Images: 1) Ibargüengoitia Tena sits at a desk in her studio. 2) A 2023 installed sculpture features a partially constructed room that is 15 x 17 x 15 feet, with exposed wood studs surrounded by eggshells on the floor and a large pillow with an embroidered pillowcase.
Studio Art Printmaking!
Ink it. Press it. Reveal it. Make your work here!
At UNT CVAD, you don’t just study art — you create it — while experimenting across processes to build your future through making.
The Studio Art: Printmaking concentration at UNT CVAD supports students in developing a personal vision and studio practice grounded in both tradition and innovation. In our carefully maintained studios, students explore intaglio, relief, lithography, screen printing, monotype, artist’s books and interdisciplinary processes that combine handmade and photo/digital methods.
Apply now. Link in bio.
Questions? Contact your academic advisor or Kevin Contreras, recruiter, at [email protected].
Reel description: Two UNT CVAD Studio Art Printmaking students work in the Printmaking studios using presses, ink and layered print processes while describing their experience in the program.
Office of the Dean | Retirement Celebration honoring Eric Ligon, senior associate dean
You’re invited | Please join us!
May 20, 2026
3–5 p.m.
Speakers: 3:30 p.m.
Come & Go
Presidential Diamond Suite
University Union, Fourth Floor
#UNTCVAD @ligonture
Images: 1) Text in the caption is on a dark gray background. 2) Black-and-white photo of Eric smiling as he sits on a stool. He has short hair, wears glasses and dark clothing.
Department of Design Special Event: Communication Design Exhibition and Awards 2026
Congratulations to our newest graphic design and UX alumni!
#UNTCVAD #UNTdesign
CVAD, Onstead Institute + Denton Independent School District Fine Arts 2026 Annual Art Show
Please join us!
Visitors will see selected artwork by students at each Denton ISD school, from kindergarten to high school seniors.
EXHIBITION
“Outside the Box”
May 11–14, 2026
RECEPTION
May 11, 5–7 p.m.
Remarks at 5:30 p.m.
UNT Art Building, Cora Stafford Gallery
1201 W. Mulberry St., Denton, Texas
Free | Open to the Public
“Outside the Box” is co-sponsored by the University of North Texas Onstead Institute and the College of Visual Arts and Design to promote community support for art education.
Image: Outside the Box is printed in a young child’s handwriting. The word box is on the outside of the yellow box. All other text is in the caption.
#UNTCVAD #OnsteadInstitute #DentonISD
Art History Faculty Highlight: Jennifer Way, Ph.D. — New book alert!
Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Way!
Professor Way has published “Craft and War: Makers, Users, and Craft Practices since the Nineteenth Century” with Bloomsbury Publishing, a leading voice in craft history scholarship.
Developed from a 2020 Association of Art Historians conference session, the anthology explores how craft shapes — and is shaped by — conflict from the mid-1800s to today.
Across 16 chapters, “Craft and War” challenges traditional narratives by: • centering makers and users of color • connecting global stories across continents • examining craft in displacement, healing, resistance and community • rethinking boundaries like home front vs. battlefield
Supported by CVAD Cornerstone and Small Grants, the project also included mentorship of doctoral students contributing to the work. Available through Bloomsbury and major booksellers.
Research. Mentorship. Global impact. cvad.unt.edu/ah
Image: Book cover of "Craft and War" on a dark gray background.
Text: Professor Jennifer Way brings together a wealth of scholarship to redress an understudied area of modern craft history, craft and war. Examine the diverse ways craft has participated in wars from the mid-19th century to the present day! "Craft & War" explores issues of fabrication, makers, objects, uses and users throughout conflicts across the world to provide a critical understanding of the relationship between craft and contexts of war.
#UNTCVAD #ArtHistory #CraftStudies #ResearchInAction #JenniferWay
April 2026
Department of Design Faculty Highlight: Stephen Zhang, M.F.A., UNT alum, associate professor of graphic design and award-winning water media artist
Congratulations, Professor Zhang!
“Balancing Act”
Watercolor on paper
27.25 × 32.5 inches
Selected recently for the American Illustration–American Photography AI45 annual hardcover award book — one of 432 images chosen from 6,387 entries (6.7% acceptance rate). AI, founded in 1989, is the premier juried competition and publication recognizing the best creative, cutting-edge illustration work in the U.S.
ABOUT THE PAINTING
A quiet moment, full of motion. At a farmer’s market in southwestern China, a mother leans in to choose vegetables for the family meal. Her baby rides on her back, taking in the color and energy — a front-row seat to everyday life. What looks simple is anything but: care, labor and love, all happening at once.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Zhang, associate professor of graphic design at UNT CVAD, is known for large-scale watercolor paintings that are fluid, expressive and empathetic. His work blends Eastern and Western artistic traditions and has been exhibited and recognized nationally and internationally, including the annual Signature American Watermedia International Exhibition, Watercolor USA national competitive exhibition, the Chinese National Art Exhibition and features in American Art Collector and International Artist. His paintings have also been exhibited at the U.S. Embassy in Equatorial Guinea.
“Balancing Act” will be on view at the 50th Transparent Watercolor Society of America Annual Exhibition at the Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha, Wisconsin, opening May 2, 2026. Zhang’s painting received the Zoltan Szabo Founders Award and is available for purchase.
Image description: A mother at a farmer's market in Southwestern China bends forward, expertly selecting vegetables for the family meal. While her baby — carried on her back in the customary fashion — enjoys a front-row seat to a vibrant display of fresh produce, blissfully unaware that this is a chore for the mother who is juggling the demands of daily life in more ways than one.
#UNTCVAD #StephenZhang @StephenZhangArt #Watercolor
Studio Art Highlight: Ceramics
“I couldn’t live without it.”
In Ceramics at UNT CVAD, students shape more than clay — they build a practice.
From soda kilns to expansive glaze and materials labs, our facilities support experimentation at every level. But what keeps students here is something deeper:
A process that’s hands-on, reflective and, for many, healing.
Inspired by everyday life, materials and technique, each piece becomes a way to explore ideas, emotions and identity.
Ready to get your hands in it? Start your journey in Studio Art: Ceramics.
cvad.unt.edu/studioart
#UNTCVAD #Ceramics #StudioArt #ArtSchool #ClayLife #CreativeProcess #FutureArtists
Department of Design: Ready to take the next step in UX or transition into interaction design?
The M.A. in Interaction Design at the University of North Texas prepares professionals for strategic roles in user experience, product design and digital innovation.
Designed for working adults and career pivoters, this 16-month program blends research, systems thinking and hands-on studio practice. You’ll build a professional portfolio, collaborate across disciplines and develop the confidence to lead design decisions that shape real-world outcomes.
Link: https://cvad.unt.edu/design/ma-ixd | Link in bio.
Evening courses make it possible to balance work and graduate study.
Advance your career with the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design.
Apply today.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
U.S. Applicants: June 19, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT
International Applicants: May 15, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT
#UNTCVAD #MastersDegree #UXdesign #IxD
Department of Design, Fashion Design Faculty Highlight: Big news for global design at UNT CVAD.
Professor Hae Jin Gam has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to lead international research on the future of fashion education in South Korea.
From August to December 2026, she’ll collaborate with faculty at Kyung Hee University and Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea, to explore how sustainability, AI and global change are reshaping design classrooms — and careers.
Her work will help develop new curriculum models that prepare students to lead in a rapidly evolving, tech-driven and globally connected fashion industry.
Congratulations, Dr. Gam!
At CVAD, that means learning isn’t just happening in the studio — it’s happening across the world.
Read more about it on the CVAD News and Views website: Link in bio.
#UNTCVAD #Fulbright #FashionDesign #DesignEducation #GlobalLearning
Creative U | Pre-College Art & Design Summer Experience 🔥
Give your high school student a chance to explore creativity in a university setting this summer.
June 1–5 and June 8–12
For students in or entering grades 9–12 and 2026 grads, Creative U is a hands-on way to explore creative careers — no experience is required. Students learn from UNT faculty in a structured, supervised campus environment and gain exposure to a range of creative disciplines. No prior art experience is required.
This summer, you could: · Create jewelry using colorful enameling techniques · Design and bind your own sketchbook or artist’s book · Prototype a mobile app using Figma, just like UX/UI designers · Explore mural-making, printmaking or papermaking on a budget · Level up illustration skills using Adobe Fresco and Photoshop · Design a room using SketchUp · Create a soft sculpture using embroidery and textiles
And that’s just the start.
👉 Visit the Creative U webpage to see all courses: news.cvad.unt.edu/cu
Registration is open now. Limited spots; enroll soon! The last day to register is May 23 by 5 p.m.
Image: A high school student smiles while holding up a textile piece with a bold black floral design in a studio classroom. Other students work at tables with sewing machines and materials in the background. Text is in the caption, plus the offered areas of study: Book Arts, Graphic Design, Metalsmithing & Jewelry, Papermaking, Photography: Cyanotype, Printmaking, Soft Sculpture Self-Portraits
#UNTCVAD #CreativeU
