As a follow-up to 2017’s Dream & Design: A Design School Challenge, New York magazine and Delta® Faucet have launched the Design Beyond™ Fellowship, a one-of-a-kind opportunity for emerging interior designers. Four fellows have been chosen from a pool of qualified applicants to partake in a summer-long immersive learning experience. Throughout, the fellows are being challenged to expand their thinking and portfolio, while being mentored by industry leaders. They’re traveling to inspiring locales, are being featured on the Cut, and will receive a $5,000 stipend. See more details below.
Relive the Fellowship
Watch here to see how 2018’s Design Beyond Fellowship unfolded.
Watch the Videos
Meet the Fellows
Click on the images below to get to know each of the Design Beyond fellows.
Top left: Ajaee Shepard, 24, Los Angeles, California
Top right: Spencer Sight, 29, Kansas City, Missouri
Bottom left: Nick Ozemba, 27, New York, New York
Bottom right: Selin Kurun, 27, Brooklyn, New York
Meet the Mentors
Top left: Delia Brennan, Homepolish interior designer
Top right: Young Huh, principal and founder of Young Huh Interiors
Bottom left: Billy Cotton, interior designer and product designer
Bottom right: Ghislaine Viñas, residential, commercial, and product designer
About the Fellowship
How We Chose Fellows
Wendy Goodman, design editor of New York magazine and Design Hunting, selected eight emerging designers with distinct viewpoints — talented recent graduates and promising young professionals — as candidates for the Design Beyond Fellowship. From Goodman’s chosen pool, Delta Faucet selected four final fellows who represent the potential future of design.
What the Fellowship Experience Entails
Throughout the summer, four highly regarded interior designers will serve as mentors to our group of fellows. These mentors will challenge the fellows to imagine future-facing spaces throughout a series of test assignments. All the while, New York will film their collective journey as the fellows receive these thought-provoking prompts, explore unique locations for inspiration, and create their own interpretations of the various design themes.
What’s in It for the Fellows?
Each fellow will get the chance to be mentored by — and to develop relationships with — prominent industry veterans, work alongside their peers on challenging design assignments, and add to their personal portfolio. Fellows also will travel together to four inspiring locations (where they’ll meet and learn from more well-connected pros), and have their experiences documented and showcased on New York magazine’s the Cut. Additionally, fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend. Looking to the future, Delta Faucet is committed to supporting this crop of up-and-coming designers, and introducing them to the world.
For more information, please see the full list of FAQs.
Introductory Letter to Applicants
Dear Designers,
At New York magazine, our mission is to celebrate innovation with an eye to the future and to bravely traverse the ever-changing design terrain with fresh and curious eyes. With our design writing, we continue to raise the bar of excellence with original coverage of purposeful, thoughtful, and unique design. As editor of Design Hunting, I’m privileged to visit and report on the most interesting interiors in existence. The interior designers behind those incredible homes never cease to amaze me with their ingenuity and inventiveness. Now, we look to you — the next generation of designers.
One of my favorite parts of being a design editor is discovering talented new designers and bringing their work to a wider audience, which is why I am thrilled about our design fellowship: Design Beyond. The themes of this fellowship include industrial design, eco-design, art and design, and tech and design — providing creative opportunities for every designer. This summer, four recent graduates will be selected as fellows to participate in Design Beyond. Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from established design mentors through a series of challenges and events focused on kitchens and bathrooms of the future.
What I love to observe in my interactions with upcoming designers is how you work in new and clever ways — with an array of fascinating tools and skillful methods. The common thread I’ve observed between the wonderful rising talent I’ve encountered is their belief in the power of design to impact and transform. It’s this idea that drives the Design Beyond. The goal of this initiative is to provide you, the next great designers, with a national stage to showcase your creative talent.
As you undergo this weeks-long exercise in creative development, we’ll document your story and work in a four-part video series that will be shared through both Delta® Faucet and New York magazine’s promotional channels. While your journey will reach a wide and valuable audience, it’s your personal experience that matters to us most. Through this one-of-a-kind fellowship, our hope is that you will refine your style, expand your world of inspiration, and find greater confidence — and humility — in all the work that you do. Along the way, the program is designed to build your portfolio, test your ambition and motivation, and encourage you to think deeply and expansively. And, of course, this is your chance to shine.
So, good luck. Dream. Learn. Do.
–Wendy Goodman, design editor of New York magazine
This is paid content produced for an advertiser by New York Brand Studio. The editorial staff of the Cut did not play a role in its creation.