Shea Tillman
Professor of Industrial Design - School of Industrial and Graphic Design at Auburn University

With a background rooted in both user research and consumer product development, Shea currently teaches advanced product and foundation design studios, photography, and industrial design history in the School of Industrial and Graphic Design at Auburn University. Previously, Shea led Studio+Health, a futures course focused on better orienting product design students for medical device development. In addition, he taught human-centered design within the Mechanical Engineering program at Auburn University and in the Biomedical Engineering program the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB).

Prior professional experience includes work in the consumer products sector with Techtronic Industries (Ryobi, Ridgid, Craftsman tools), and Cooper Lighting (commercial lighting systems), as well as a user experience researcher with SonicRim in Columbus, Ohio. Shea has also led design and innovation collaborations with companies such as Emerson Tool, Eastman, Werner, Leica Geosystems, and Microsoft. Research interests include the integration of user research in the product development process, as well as the generation and management of visual brand language (VBL).

LinkedIn profile
Instagram feed
Flickr photostream

Curriculum vitae

AU School of Industrial and Graphic Design - For over 70 years, the industrial design program at Auburn University
has melded human-centered approaches with practical application through professional collaborations, emerging as a leader in both teaching design and in researching how design is taught.

Auburn's Center for Construction Innovation and Collaboration - Led and managed fourth-year studios (Studio+Build) composed of industrial design, building science, architecture and industrial systems engineering students to design new innovative products and systems for the commercial construction site. Industry partners included Werner, Knaack and Leica Geosystems.

L*unchBox Innovation Workshop - Director of study abroad program that participates in this annual event at Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines (EMSE), in Saint-Etienne, France. Work with engineering students from EMSE, design strategy students from Brunel University in London, and design students from Politecnico di Milano on four-day global design challenge.

Design Management Institute- Global network connecting business, design, and education.