Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl is a

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

scholar and educator. She was the editor and publisher of the interdisciplinary journal ''

Visible Language {{Use mdy dates, date=March 2025 ''Visible Language'' is an American journal presenting visual communication research. Founded in 1967 as ''The Journal of Typographical Research'' by Merald Wrolstad, occasional ''Visible Language'' issues are c ...

''.

Education and career

Poggenpohl obtained an MS from the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

(IIT) in 1974, and first taught at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

. From 1987 to 2013, she coordinated the PhD in design program of the

(IIT) and edited the journal ''Visual Language''. She went on to develop an

Interaction Design Interaction design, often abbreviated as IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." While interaction design has an interest in form (similar to other design fields), its main area of foc ...

program at

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU or HKPU) is a public research university in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1937 a ...

. Poggenpohl is known for her work to develop

graduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

in design, through the edition of anthology and the publications of essays. These include the book Design Integrations.

Notes and references

American designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Rhode Island School of Design faculty {{US-academic-bio-stub