Dana Vaux

Interior & Product Design, Assistant Professor

Office: OTOL 206A   |    Phone: (308) 865-8233   |    Email: vauxde@unk.edu

Dana Vaux

Biography

Education

2014 - Ph.D., Interdisciplinary: Architecture, Interior Design, Environmental History
Washington State University
Dissertation: An Ethos of Place: Constructing an Historical Understanding of Place Experience ABD at present

2010 - M.A. in Interior Design
Washington State University
Thesis: Interior People Places: The Impact of the Built Environment on the Third Place Experience

2009 - B.A. in Interior Design
Washington State University
Minor: Architecture

Professional Affiliations

ASID: American Society of Interior Designers
IDEC: Interior Design Educators Council
USGBC: U.S. Green Building Council

Teaching

Teaching Appointments

Aug 2014– Present
Assistant Professor - University of Nebraska Kearney, Kearney, NE

Jan 2010– May 2014
Instructor/Graduate Teaching Assistant - Washington State University, Pullman, WA
 Assistant Instructor/Instructor
Interior Design studios - ID 102, ID 103, ID 201, ID 321
Graphic Communication Courses - ID 197, ID 205, ID 297
Elective Courses - ID 277, ID 477

June 2008 – Dec 2008
 Adjunct Instructor - Washington State University, Pullman, WA
 Assistant instructor
Interior Design Studio - ID 103
Graphic Communication Course - ID 197

Undergraduate Teaching: Studios

ID 102: Interior Design Studio I
Assistant instructor for introductory interior design studio focusing on problem-solving grounded in aesthetic theories and design principles.

ID 103: Interior Design Transfer Studio
Instructor responsible for developing curricula, delivering content and administering grades for an intensive studio for transfer students introducing basic elements and principles of design and basic technical skills including hand drafting, sketching, rendering, model building and Adobe Creative Suite.

ID 201: Interior Design Studio II
Instructor responsible for developing curricula, delivering content and administering grades for a second year interior design studio grounding problem-solving in theories of human behavior relative to residential design projects. Course content includes an introduction to sustainable design, issues of ADA compliance and universal design.

ID 321: Interior Design Studio IV
Co-instructor responsible for developing curricula, delivering content and administering grades for third year studio grounded in place theory, integrating environmental systems as well as formal and spatial development.

Undergraduate Teaching: Digital and Graphic Communication Courses

ID 197: Design Communication I
Instructor responsible for developing curricula, delivering content and administering grades for a first year design communication course including manual and digital methods. Course includes instruction in hand drafting as well as graphic design principles using Adobe Creative Suite.

ID 205: Visual Communication
Instructor responsible for developing curricula, delivering content and administering grades for a graphic communication course that focuses on the various methods in which the interior designer may choose to visually communicate design concepts. Includes instruction in hand sketching, rendering and constructed perspective drawings. Course content introduces students to methods of integrating hand presentation drawings with digital media.

ID 297: Design Communication II
Instructor responsible for developing curricula, delivering content and administering grades for manual and digital design communication course teaching 2D/3D design problem solving through the integration of current technology and software applications. Furthers student's skills in Adobe Creative Suite and introduces students to AutoCAD and SketchUp. Course content includes instruction in construction documents and integrating software technology for presentation drawings.

Undergraduate Teaching: Additional Courses

ID 277: Interior Design Study Tour
Coordinator/ supervisor for curricula in a second year study tour to Seattle, WA focused on residential design.

ID 477: Interior Design Study Tour
Coordinator/ supervisor for schedule and events in a Junior/Senior level study tour to San Diego, CA focused on hospitality design.

Graduate Teaching: Studio

ID 321: Fundamentals of Planning and Design l for Graduate Students
Co-instructor for 3-year interior design graduate students introducing them to research-based design problem solving and advanced technical skills. Course content includes tutorials in digital design graphic programs and hand graphic skills as well as space planning.

Additional Teaching Experience

Guest Lecturer, Washington State University

2013 - ARCH 492 Seminar in Architectural Design - "Preserving the Everyday Past"
           ARCH 433 Environmental Control of Buildings II - "Lighting and Color in Building Design"

2012 - ID 321 Interior Design Studio IV - "Place Theory and the Third Place"
           ID 425 Interior Design Studio VI - "The Importance of the Everyday Past in Community Design"                                                      

Committee Member for Master of Arts in Interior Design, WSU

2012-2013 - Shefali Thomas: "A 'Third Place Plus' for cancer patients: Social Support in a Restorative Environment + Complementary Healing Techniques."


Research

RESEARCH & SCHOLARSHIP

Refereed Publications

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters
  • Vaux, D. (2015). Interior People Places: The Impact of the Built Environment on the Third Place Experience. In Jo Ann Asher Thompson and Nancy Blossom (Ed.), The Handbook for Interior Design (First ed., pp. 347-365). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
  • 2014 - Dana Vaux, "Interior People Places: The Impact of the Built Environment on the Third Place Experience." In J. Thompson and N. Blossom (Eds.), Handbook for Interior Design. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc. December 2014.
Journal Articles
  • 2014 - D. Wang, D. Vaux and M. Xu, "Better Bowling: 'doing with' for design studio instruction and public scholarship." Journal of Interior Design. March 2014, Vol. 39, No. 1. p 33-45.
Conference Proceedings
  • Vaux, D. IDEC Midwest Regional Conference, "People + Place: An interface between the human and the built environment," Interior Design Educator's Council, Holland, MI. (October 16, 2015).
  • Vaux, D. (Author), Wang, D. (Author). IDEC Symposium: Design + Culture, "Ethnography and logical argumentation as a research method for clarifying complex client/user cultures," Interior Design Educator's Council, Fort Worth, Texas. (March 17, 2015).
  • Nordhues, J. D. (Author & Presenter), Vaux, D. (Author & Presenter). IDEC National Conference, "Technology, Practice and Education: A Model for Mastery," Interior Design Educator's Council, Fort Worth, Texas. (March 13, 2015).
  • Vaux, D. (Author & Presenter). IDEC Midwest Regional Conference, "Design Thinking as Process: A Model for Understanding Designers' Process of "Making"," Interior Design Educator's Council, Manhattan, Kansas - Kansas State University. (October 17, 2014).
  • 2014 - R. Krikac, D. Vaux and K. Ryan, "Perspective as a Method of Engaging Critical Thinking." 2014 Design Communication Association Conference Proceedings, (eds) M. Saleh Uddin, Ph.D, & Christopher Welty, AIA. October 2014.
  • 2014 - D. Vaux. "Design Thinking as Process: A Model for Understanding Designers’ Process of Making." 2014 Interior Design Educators Council Midwest Regional Conference Proceedings. October 2014.
  • 2014 - D. Vaux and J. Theodorson, "The Market Third Place: Using research as an initiator, template and springboard for design education." 2014 Interior Design Educators Council National Conference Proceedings. March 2014 (42.02% acceptance rate)
  • 2014 - K. Ryan and D. Vaux, "From Shape to From: Bridging the 2D to 3D Spatial Gap in Design Thinking." Interior Design Educators Council National Conference Proceedings, March 2014 (42.02% acceptance rate)
  • 2013 - D. Vaux and K. Ryan, "Spatial Distortions: Making Cognitive Connections between Hand and Digital Visualization." Interior Design Educators Council National Conference Proceedings, February 2013 (42% acceptance rate)
  • 2012 - D. Vaux, "The Dumas Warehouse: Building the Inland Empire's Everyday Past." Society of Architectural Historians, Marion Dean Ross Pacific Northwest Chapter, November 4, 2012.
Refereed Presentations
  • 2014 - S. Thomas, J. Theodorson and D. Vaux, "A “Third Place Plus” for cancer patients: Social Support in a Restorative Environment + Complementary Healing Techniques." Poster Presentation, Interior Design Educators Council Conference, March 2014 (36.6% acceptance rate)
  • 2014 - K. Ryan and D. Vaux, "Simultaneous Scaffolding: Building creative process through media integration." Pecha Kucha Presentation. Interior Design Educators Council National Conference Proceedings, March 2014 (30% acceptance rate)
  • 2013 - D. Vaux, and J. Thompson, "Interior People Places: The Design of the Built Environment and the Third Place Experience on College Campuses." Poster Presentation, Interior Design Educators Council National Conference Proceedings, February 2013 (38% acceptance rate)
  • 2011 - D. Vaux, "The Third Place on College Campuses." Poster Presentation, Inland Northwest Research Symposium, Washington State University, April 2011.
GRANTS
  • In review - "New Voices: A cross-disciplinary approach to enrich community input for envisioning value in the milieu." Humanities Planning Group Collaborative Research Projects. $3500. P.I.: Ryan, K., and Co-P.I.: Krikac, R., Sleipness, O., Shors, B., & D. Vaux,

Service

SERVICE and AWARDS

Service
  • 2011 - Executive Director, Des-Ign Student Assoc., WSU Interdisciplinary Design Institute, Spokane, WA. Student organization coordinating activities, guest speakers and conferences for the student body.
  • 2011 - Design Charrette Committee Chair, WSU Interdisciplinary Design Institute, Spokane, WA. "Taking Back the Street" Organized and oversaw a three-day design charrette. The purpose of the charrette was to build relationship between design students in different disciplines.
  • 2010 - Moderator, Designing Health, Design Research Conference, WSU Interdisciplinary Design Institute, Spokane, WA.
Awards
  • 2014 - IDEC Scholarship Award: Best Poster Abstract