Parsons School of Design will present a series of lectures this fall spotlighting designers in the areas of product, lighting, furniture, and interior design. The series will guide the audience members on what designers do, how they process information and actualize designs, and different training experiences that have led them to where they are now. The series will also explore how different designers, who are culturally diverse, young and old, male and female, have or have not balanced their work and lives. Guests will represent a range of production methods, from one-of-a-kind pieces, to large-scale production. Different markets will be explored.

Parsons faculty member Lyn Godley, a product designer and partner of Godley-Schwan design firm, will introduce each guest. After the talk there will be a slide or video show, interview with the designer, and a question and answer session. The series is sponsored by Parsons School of Design’s Product Design department.

All events will take place at New School University's Swayduck Auditorium at 65 Fifth Avenue, NYC. Seating is limited for all talks. For further information, call (212) 229-5885.

Opening the series on Thursday, October 5 from 6:30 - 9:00 PM will be Humberto and Fernando Campana from the Brazilian-based Studio Campana. Studio Campana is recognized internationally for subverting the utility of materials and creating in their objects a restless world of experimentation, creativity and innovation.

Designer Michael Graves will be the guest on Thursday, October 19 from 6:30 - 9:00 PM, also at Swayduck Auditorium, 65 Fifth Avenue, NYC. One of our century's most important architects and designers, Michael Graves has dubbed himself a general practitioner of design, leaving his poetic mark on everything from hotels to spatulas.

One of the most authoritative voices on home furnishings, Raymond Waites, is recognized as a pioneering force behind the reinvention in American Design. He will be the guest at Parsons on Thursday, November 2 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM.

On Thursday, November 16 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM, Martha Davis, a former product designer for Smart Design, co-founder of Able Design, and currently with Razorfish, will be the guest speaker. Martha Davis designs lighting and home accessories and technology-based mobile and wireless devices.

This year's recipient of the Brooklyn Museum of Art/Modernism Young Designer Award, Harry Allen, has worked extensively in product and lighting design, and commercial interiors, most notably the Soho design gallery, Moss. The talk will take place on Thursday, November 30 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM.

Parsons School of Design, a division of New School University, is the largest degree-granting college of art and design in the nation. Currently enrolled are 2,400 undergraduate students, 380 graduate students, and 2,500 non-degree students from all 50 of the United States and from 60 countries. Parsons' main campuses are in New York City's Greenwich Village and Midtown Manhattan. In addition, Parsons has affiliate schools in Paris, France; Kanazawa, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and the Dominican Republic.

Undergraduate degrees are offered in Architectural Design, Communication Design, Design Marketing, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Integrated Design Curriculum, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design. Graduate degrees are granted in Architecture, Design and Technology, Lighting Design, Painting, Sculpture, and the History of Decorative Arts.