Gray Garmon

Gray Garmon serves as Associate Professor of Practice in Design and Founding Director of the Center for Integrated Design at The University of Texas at Austin, where he has developed undergraduate and graduate curricula since 2018. He positions design as a fundamental human ability applicable across all disciplines, empowering students to shape better futures through methodological rigor.

His educational foundation includes a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the AIA Henry Adams Medal and Social Impact Fellowship.

Garmon's research centers on human-centered design applications for social innovation and peacebuilding. His 'Co-Designing Peace' framework, presented at TEDxUT Austin, exemplifies his approach to systems change. He emphasizes five core mindsets—Collaboration, Empathy, Synthesis, Prototyping, and Storytelling—as transferable skills for impactful work across contexts.

Major scientific awards include:

• Fast Company Innovation by Design Award (Aga Khan Foundation toolkit)
• Don Norman Design Award (Guide to Human-Centred Design for Social Innovation)
• AIA Henry Adams Medal

As educator and practitioner, Garmon built the Center for Integrated Design into one of America's largest undergraduate design programs. His TWOxTWO consultancy provides students direct access to projects with Southwest Airlines, Perot Museum, and international organizations, demonstrating robust industry-academic integration. Mentorship focuses on prototyping real-world solutions through interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Center for Integrated Design operates as Garmon's primary academic hub, fostering a team environment where students develop creative capacity for professional and community contexts. Its growth reflects his mission to advance design as a catalyst for human flourishing through accessible, discipline-agnostic methodology.