A Brigham Young University industrial design student was recognized with the Industrial Designers Society of America Merit Award for the Western District. This marks the first time that a BYU student has received the award.
Steve Madsen was nominated by the BYU IDS student chapter to participate against 16 other schools in the western United States, including the Art Center School of Design, California State University-Long Beach, the University of Oregon, the University of Washington and Arizona State University.
Madsen will present his portfolio at the society’s national convention in August in Portland, Ore., where he will compete with students from the Southern, Mideast, Northeast and Midwest Districts.
“I am really happy about it,” Madsen said. “The most interesting part was seeing what my peers at other schools are doing. I’d seen and been involved with BYU’s projects, but it was fun to see what students all across the nation were doing.”
At the competition, Madsen presented his portfolio to a crowd of professional designers.
“Presenting to a few hundred people was a little hard,” Madsen said. “That was a new experience for me. It was a good experience that I learned a lot from though.”
His portfolio included projects completed at BYU including video cameras that he designed for Logitech and exercise equipment for Icon Health and Fitness.
“Steve is a great designer,” said design faculty member Paul Skaggs, who has been his teacher since Madsen was a freshman. “Steve is a great blend of creativity and practicality. He has a real ability to come up with a creative idea and implement it well. He understands all the stakeholders and designs products that fit all the demands of the user and of the business.”
Madsen recently accepted a job at a design firm in New Jersey.
For more information, contact Krista Tripodi at (801) 422-3948.
Writer: Brandon Garrett
