Dana "DeltaDana" Akins-Adeyemi

Interdisciplinary Design Educator • Designer • Innovation/Systems Strategist • Engineer

I help students connect research, creativity, technology, communication, and human-centered design to navigate complexity and create meaningful impact.

Industrial Design • UX / Interaction Design • Human-Centered Design • Systems Thinking

Mechanical Engineering • Manufacturing Engineering

30+Years UNT Faculty RISD Faculty Engineering Background Interdisciplinary Designer Innovation Strategist

INTRODUCTION

Over three decades of experience spanning engineering, industrial design, UX, innovation strategy, design entrepreneurship, and higher education. My work focuses on helping students and organizations navigate complexity through human-centered design, systems thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation.

I connect disciplines, people, and ideas to help students navigate complexity and create meaningful impact through human-centered design.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

M.S. Manufacturing Engineering (Design for Manufacturing & Assembly)

Graduate Studies in Industrial Design (RISD)

UX / Interaction Design • Human-Centered Design • Systems Thinking

ABOUT

My career bridges engineering, industrial design, user experience, innovation strategy, and education. I have taught at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the University of North Texas (UNT), helping students develop research, communication, design, and problem-solving skills through real-world projects.

My professional experience includes work with organizations such as Texas Instruments, IBM, Polaroid, Johnson & Johnson, Honeywell, RISD-Hyundai Motor Group Collaborative, and sustainability initiatives connected to RISD - Terra Carta Lab.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY BRIEF

Teaching Through Human-Centered Design

I believe students learn best when they engage authentic challenges that connect research, empathy, creativity, and critical thinking. My courses emphasize human-centered design, interdisciplinary collaboration, inclusive design, systems thinking, and real-world application.

Students learn not only how to create artifacts, but how to understand people, frame problems, communicate ideas, and develop meaningful solutions.

Read Full Teaching Philosophy HERE

Curriculum Vitae

CV Addendum

My LinkedIn Profile

TEACHING & STUDENT WORK

Featured RISD Projects (Scroll to bottom of this page)

Department of Industrial Design, Critic Professor

Design Principles Redesign projects for Users with Severe Arthritis, etc...

RISD/Brown University Dual Degree Student (See Telephone Redesign project below)

RISD Industrial Design Students (See Iron Redesign below)

Industry Guest Critics & Speakers

RISD Strategic Partnerships (student and early professional workshops and advisor)

Terra Carta (Workshop: UnMasking the Fraud: Imposter Syndrome & Equity Centered Design)

Hyundai Motor Group Collaborative

Workshop: Intro to Strategic Design

Principal Design, Innovation & Engineering Strategist / Advisor role

Inclusive Design course development research/proposed outline

Featured UNT Projects

Teaching UX, Graphic Design, and Design Thinking courses

Research & Collaboration

RISD HMG Collaborative (Hyundai Motor Group)

JMI

American Airlines

Industry Guest Speakers & Guest Critics

Design by Rhode Island (DxRI) Professional Development Workshops (I created and facilitated)

Strategic Design workshop for Resilience Cohort and for Fidelity Investments professional designers.

Change Management training workshop for Resiliency Cohort and for Fidelity Investments professional designers

Professional Development

Equity by Design 3 month Cohort (DxRI)

Masterclasses and training workshops for professionals

100 Most Influential black Women conference Masterclass

Speaking & Workshops

Interactive Design

Inclusive Design

Professional Experience

City of Dallas Design Thinking for Census Project

Various Industry positions (Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Design Consulting) - See CV Addendum and LinkedIn

Entrepreneurship - See My LinkedIn Profile and CV Addendum

Company/Industrial/Product Development Portfolio - Available upon request

Speaking & Thought Leadership

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) courses and workshops taught: Design Principles 1 (DP1), Advanced CAD, and workshops through Strategic Partnerships organization.

RISD Design Principles

This project reflects my approach to teaching design as a process of inquiry, empathy, critical thinking, and human-centered problem solving.

The following examples represent student work and presentations for Design Principles, a course I taught at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

In this course, students apply the Design Thinking process to analyze and redesign an existing product. The project begins with the Empathy and Research phases, where students investigate the relationship between people and products through user observation, use-case analysis, journey mapping, persona development, user interviews, and examination of the product's engineering and industrial design considerations.

By integrating human-centered research with design analysis, students develop a comprehensive understanding of both user needs and product performance. Throughout the semester, students move through multiple stages of research, synthesis, ideation, concept development, and evaluation.

The project culminates in a final presentation in which students communicate their design process, key insights, and proposed redesign solutions. These presentations demonstrate each student's ability to connect research, empathy, systems thinking, and design decision-making in the development of meaningful product innovations.

This student was a dual degree student, which means she was a student of both RISD Industrial Design and Brown University Engineering.DP 1 course student slide show and recorded presentation

omited slide copy of DP I Redesign Project Phone Yesenia Gomez

Optional power point file view!

Scroll to see it or open in separate window ----->

zoom_0.mp4

DP I Redesign Project Phone Yesenia Gomez.pptx

Copy of Selina Final presentation.pptx

Student Example

RISD Student's Mini Air Purifier Redesign

Note: Scroll up over image to view slideshow.

DP1 course Student Example

RISD Industrial Design Student work example.

This student chose to redesign an iron.

Note: Scroll up over the image to view the slideshow. Or click to open in a separate window.

Lily Nam- Final Presentation.pptx