Agata Nowak

Agata Nowak serves as a Lecturer and coordinator of the Product Design specialization at the Materiality Design Department, Faculty of Design, SWPS University in Warsaw. An industrial designer and design curator, she operates her own studio (Agata Nowak Design) since 2020, creating products for brands including Borcas, Loft Decora, and Woud while curating major exhibitions for Gdynia Design Days.

Her educational background includes product and furniture design degrees from De Montfort University in Leicester and the University of the Arts in Poznań. Professional experience spans Studio Rygalik, Studio Ganszyniec, and Touch Ideas research projects.

Her research centers on materiality and human-object relationships across product design, furniture design, exhibition spaces, and ceramics. She investigates how everyday objects mediate cultural experiences, emphasizing Polish design context while blending traditional craftsmanship with industrial production. Her work consistently explores sensory engagement, social narratives, and sustainable material practices.

Analysis of her creative output reveals an evolving trajectory from functional product design toward socially engaged curation. Recent projects increasingly address societal themes like body politics, environmental concerns, and empathy through exhibitions, demonstrating her transition from object-focused creation to conceptual frameworks that position design as a catalyst for cultural discourse.

As an educator, she teaches design fundamentals, product design, furniture design, exhibition space design, and design process courses. Her pedagogy integrates professional practice with academic instruction, notably through workshops with Sabine Marcelis and Keiji Ashizawa that expose students to international design methodologies.

Her collaborative practice includes partnerships with Michał Bachowski on award-nominated exhibitions and team-based projects at Domaine de Boisbuchet. At her studio, she leads production of both mass-market items and handmade ceramics, maintaining a dynamic interplay between commercial viability and artistic exploration in material experimentation.