MAINSTAGE PRESENTATION

6. Presence Changes Perception
Wendy Puffer, Marion Design Co.

Curiosity is best served over lunch! What happens when seventeen college students and three faculty invite community members from their local town to lunch at a vacant downtown bank every week for a whole summer? Learn how a summer internship team designed the city brand identity and website and launched the revitalization of a rural downtown with a team of designers armed with design thinking.

Wendy Puffer is a recovering design educator and the CEO of Marion Design Co. Her passions include creating custom design thinking sessions for teams, classrooms, and businesses. In 2021 she shifted from the college classroom to the studio after teaching Interior Design and Design for Social Impact for 21 years. She’ll share her story of being nimble through the journey of empowering her community by bringing students, designers, and community stakeholders together. She’ll provide principles for recognizing impossible problems and leveraging their power to become assets for good design!