糖心Vlog

On September 25, YBCA will open the exhibit Rael San Fratello: Prototypes and Provocations to explore the work of the design studio founded by Virginia San Fratello and Ronald Rael, which operates at the intersection of poetics and utility, architecture and social practice. Encompassing more than two decades of production, this mid-career survey traces Rael San Fratello鈥檚 evolution from their early experiments in wearable housing to a series of projects centered on the U.S.鈥揗exico border, and beyond. One of the centerpieces of the exhibition is The Workshop, a large-scale commissioned structure made of 3D-printed plant-holding tiles and a thatch roof, which combines traditional and state-of-the-art methods to propose ecologically sound building techniques, while providing visitors with a peek into their design process and studio setup.

The 2026 IIDA Student of the Year is Leta Pham, a recent interior design graduate from San Jos茅 State University and a member of the IIDA Northern California Chapter. This prestigious annual award recognizes an outstanding student member who demonstrates exceptional leadership, community involvement, and commitment to the interior design profession.

Leila Ensaniat presented the collaborative work she completed with Dana Ragouzeos and Marjan Khatibi at Ai4 in Las Vegas in August. Her talk, titled "Where AI Belongs: Protecting Craft and Discovery while Teaching Generative AI in Design," provides guidance on where generative AI can add value to the design process and where it hinders creative growth. She'll cite examples from the team's "Creative Futures" work, completed over the 2025-26 school year.

Diya: Paramount animated Bollywood Musical

MDes Adjunct faculty Jaydeep Hasrajani and Jake Goldman were recently picked to write the script for a new animated Bollywood Musical feature film for Paramount Animation. Hasrajani is an Indian-American animator and filmmaker known for creating Netflix鈥檚 Boons and Curses, along with working on The Powerpuff Girls, The Fungies! and Ghee Happy. Goldman is an Emmy-nominated writer whose credits include Hero Inside, DC Metalforce, The Powerpuff Girls and Futurama. They teach courses in screenwriting and Intellectual property at our Master of Design in Animation program. Jake promised to learn all the songs and dances from this film, and maybe perform them in class for our grad students.