Shifting Student Perceptions Through Intergenerational Co-Design | 2026 SEGD Academic Summit

Shifting Student Perceptions Through Intergenerational Co-Design: A Case Study in Experiential Design Education | 2026 SEGD Academic Summit Speaker: Kimberly Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, University of Tennessee, Knoxville How can intergenerational co-design reshape the way students understand aging, research, and experiential graphic design? In this 2026 SEGD Academic Summit presentation, Kimberly Mitchell, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, shares a case study from a junior-level graphic design research course that paired students with older adults through sustained community engagement. The project invited students to move beyond hypothetical audiences by conducting interviews, building relationships, developing weekly design responses, and creating a public-facing exhibition grounded in lived experience. Mitchell discusses how intergenerational co-design can challenge age bias, strengthen qualitative research skills, and help students better understand empathy, inclusion, and human-centered design. Through zines, typographic posters, icon systems, publications, games, keepsakes, and storytelling artifacts, students translated personal conversations into experiential design outcomes that celebrated the lives and perspectives of their older adult partners. Presented as part of the 2026 SEGD Academic Summit, this session offers a thoughtful look at how experiential design education can expand who is imagined as part of the designed public. Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Intergenerational Co-Design 00:41 Research Goals and Challenging Age Bias 01:35 Intergenerational Programs and Community Partnership 02:23 Collaborating with Gerontology Expertise 02:51 Preparing Students for Interviews 03:41 Pre-Project Survey and Student Comfort Levels 04:41 Recruiting and Matching Older Adult Partners 05:55 Interview Modeling and Qualitative Methods 07:20 Partnerships and Qualitative Data Analysis 08:16 Weekly Design Responses and Final Outcomes 09:04 Response 1: To Connect 10:45 Response 2: To Listen 11:59 Response 3: To Remember 13:07 Community Visits and Aging Simulations 15:44 Understanding the Diversity of Aging Experiences 16:58 Exhibition and Publication Development 18:31 Community Exhibit Opening 19:24 Student Reflections and Project Impact 20:57 Stories That Connect Us Publication 21:22 Ongoing Relationships and Long-Term Outcomes 22:20 Conclusion and Future Improvements #SEGD #AcademicSummit #ExperientialDesign #DesignEducation #IntergenerationalDesign This talk will be featured in Communication + Place, the official journal of experiential design, which showcases research by academics and professionals advancing the field through creative research, curriculum development, and user-centric testing. Find this at https://segd.org/resources-education/... About SEGD: SEGD is the global multidisciplinary community for experiential graphic design. We are designers of experiences connecting people to place. Visit us at https://segd.org.