Furniture Design
Furniture Design at RISD offers an intensive immersion in materials research and exploration in the process of making furniture and objects. In this major you investigate some of the most important questions facing designers today—from how to take advantage of changing technologies and new materials, to how to respond to variable economic conditions and evolving lifestyles.
In the studio
The Furniture Design major encourages you to experiment with a wide range of materials and approaches, while focusing on human factors and sustainable, responsible design.
Exhibitions and events
A selection of works from our BFA and MFA programs that examines the role of furniture in contemporary life and the values that shape its creation.
Remixing stylistic traditions and historical ornament and embracing the fantastical, this exhibition explores dimensionality—in virtual and physical realms—with natural and synthetic materials, and through both traditional and exploratory functional objects.
A cross-disciplinary exhibition featuring work by students in seven disciplines—Ceramics, Furniture Design, Glass, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, and Textiles.
Ideals of luxury are geographically, historically, and materially specific, and inextricably linked to larger social and economic structures. Material Opulence offers a vibrant and inclusive reimagination of grandeur through a collection of functional chairs and domestic objects.
Unbounded by any preexisting definitions or illusions of domestic bliss, Rewilded Domesticity represents a collection of objects that express a collective yearning for connection through bold, organic materiality, honest structure, and the inherited wisdom of found artifacts.
About RISD FD
Students in RISD’s Furniture Design department embark on a course of study encompassing theory, skills, context, research, and professional practices. Drawing from a rich tradition, they are encouraged to experiment and work with a wide range of emerging materials and technologies, developing individual voices through the process of making. The program emphasizes the principles and practice of furniture design as well as the social value of art, design, and responsible citizenship.
News
Longtime RISD faculty member Chris Specce 01 ID was recently named Schiller Family Endowed Chair in Furniture Design. The endowment, created in 2016 thanks to a generous donation from former RISD Trustee Kim Gassett-Schiller and Phil Schiller, supports Specce’s research and creative practice and also benefits the department as a whole.
Russ Fogle MFA 27 FD was the student recipient of the third-annual award, which recognizes original and innovative works in design, with sustainability, original thought, and proficient execution among jury criteria.
A graduate-level course taught by Jonah Takagi 02 FD used Providence’s Lippitt House Museum as a lens for understanding how furniture and interiors reflect the social, cultural, and technological forces of the late 19th century.
Faculty member Aspen Golann received a 2026 Creative Capital Award, which supports the creation of risk-taking, groundbreaking new works.
Furniture maker and faculty member Joyce Lin secured $25,000 to advance her practice.
Jay Osgerby, cofounder of Barber Osgerby, joined faculty for a conversation about design and the importance of cross-disciplinarity. Critic Amy Devers also interviewed Osgerby on her Clever Podcast.
View images from Furniture Department Triennial ‘25.
From the Furniture Design department’s Grounding Space exhibition at WANTED, to participation in NYCxDESIGN events across the city, RISD work stood out at this year’s exposition.
World of Interiors reviewed Material Opulence, a collection of chairs and domestic objects presented at the 2024 International Contemporary Furniture Fair.