I believe in the power of Design.
I aim for my work to be collaborative, impactful, and excellent. My design practice is an opportunity to seek out partners and work with communities that don’t often use Design as a tool for innovation or problem solving. I am looking to challenge the traditional and historical expectations of Designers and thus pursue work that is pushing the boundaries of the traditional discipline.
Gray Garmon is the Director of the Center for Integrated Design and an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Design and Creative Technologies at the University of Texas in Austin.
Gray’s professional practice is focused on building innovate teams and cultures inside larger organizations and systems. Some of his recent clients include, Southwest Airlines, The Aga Khan Foundation, University of Pennsylvania Center for Social Impact Strategy, National Arts Strategies, Oregon Tech, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Previously, Garmon was a faculty member at Southern Methodist University and co-founder of the Master of Arts in Design and Innovation program. He practices human-centered design (HCD): a problem-solving approach widely used in industry, governments, schools and NGOs. HCD focuses on people first. Through specific qualitative research methods, he comes to understand the context in which people are functioning and how understanding behaviors, emotions and motivations can lead to better design solutions.
Gray has an undergraduate Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Gray is an American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Medal Winner, and a University of Pennsylvania Social Impact Fellow.
From 2007-2009, Gray served in Peace Corps Ghana where he worked on various projects, including teaching, HIV/AIDS, empowering women, and building concrete latrines. After Peace Corps, he started a social venture called the Global Latrine Project to develop pre-fabricated composting latrines for the developing world.
Gray worked for architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland, and several firms in Texas.
Recently, Gray and other local designers founded Design Future Dallas as an initiative to empower local creative efforts to improve the city through visionary design projects.