Karl Williamson

Karl Williamson is a Full-time Professor in the Product Design department at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He holds degrees in Industrial Design from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and an MFA in Design for Emerging Technologies from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to joining MICA, Williamson coordinated the Product Design program at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala (2014) and led development of a 25,000 sq ft prototyping lab at University of Wisconsin's College of Engineering (2017).

His teaching focuses on preparing design students for diverse roles spanning consumer products, speculative futures, responsible user-centered design, and experimental material processes. His research explores how technology mediates skill and materiality through collaborative art-craft-technology projects with partner Hellen Ascoli, exhibited internationally at venues including Frieze London and ARCO Madrid.