Select Recognition

• Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens Collaborators of the Year Award, 2024
• Keynote Speaker, Livelihood, Wisdom and Design Future International Conference, School of Design, Jiangnan University, 
  Wuxi, China. 2023
• Design Consultant, Center for Ethics and Human Values. 2016-Present
• Design Advisor, CampusParc at The Ohio State University. 2015-Present

Current CV [pdf] Google Scholar Research Gate

Dr. Chan’s research focuses on Collaborative Design and Brand Design, exploring methods, techniques, and approaches that design students utilize to delve into, interpret, and apply emotion-driven mindsets to strategic design problems. His teaching methodology integrates Design Thinking and Design Doing within a brand design pyramid framework. Design Thinking employs human-centered perspectives to tackle complex problems through conceptual and iterative processes, contextualized within the study of people, objects, spaces, messages, and services. This approach fosters empathetic understanding, discovery of insights, identification of opportunities, exploration of concepts, and framing of innovative solutions. Design Doing employs visual and tangible procedures to facilitate creative analysis, translating inspiration into implementation, and transforming design intent into real-life actions. It utilizes tools, technologies, skills, and materials in the visualization and prototyping processes to communicate, document, and evaluate concepts and system models effectively.

His creative work has garnered recognition from esteemed organizations such as AIGA, Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA), Communication Arts, CA Interactive, HOW, IDEA, IDSA, Print, and Typography. He has served as a design advisor for numerous for-profit, nonprofit, and academic groups, including American Electric Power Company, CampusParc at OSU, Center for Ethics and Human Values at OSU, Central Ohio Diabetes Association, College of Public Health at OSU, Color Marketing Group, Columbus Dance Theatre, Columbus Museum of Art, Dublin Arts Council, Friends of Lower Olentangy River Watershed (FLOW), Glass Axis, Hawk Galleries, Honda of America Performance Manufacturing Center, ID Design Innovation Journal, Jewish Family Service of Columbus, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State News, Opera Columbus, OSU Center for Automotive Research and Intelligent Transportation, OSU College of Medicine and Public Health (Department of Internal Medicine), OSU Digital Union, OSU TechPartner, Procter and Gamble Company, SonicRim, Teaching Artist Journal, The Columbus Dispatch, The Supreme Court of Ohio, and WOSU Media Company.

Active Community and University Service and Leadership

• Columbus American Advertising Federation Representative
• Columbus Society of Communicating Arts Representative
• Communications and Visual Identity Committee
• Design Culture Committee
• Design Semester International Exchange Program Head
• Graduate Studies Committee 
• Faculty Search Committee (2024-2025)
• Visual Communication Design Major Committee

Selected Publications

• Chan, P. K., & Gajić, M. (2025). Conversations with trees: A biophilic dialogue between nature and design. In S. Bassett, N. Pilarski, L. Falcão, & H.-J. Lee (Eds.), Society, spaces, screens (AMPS Proceedings Series, Vol. 41.2, pp. 15–25). Architecture, Media, Politics, Society (AMPS). https://amps-research.com/proceedings/ (Peer Reviewed).
• Colton, Z. A., Stanek, J., Liles, S. M., Baker, C., Barnard-Kirk, T., Chan, P. K., McCorkle, B., Quinn, G. P., Shen, Y., Theroux, C. I., Creary, S. E., Nahata, L., Study protocol for FUTURES: testing a web-based reproductive health education program for adolescent and young adult males with sickle cell disease. PLOS ONE (an inclusive journal community working together to advance science for the benefit of society, now and in the future). 2023. PONE-D-23-11883, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289039 (Peer Reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., Matheny, R., Engaging Practitioners in Interdisciplinary Collaborative Design Studio Courses to Advance Practice and Pedagogy. Cumulus Wuxi 2018 - Diffused Transition & Design Opportunities, Schools of Design, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China, October 31-November 3, 2018. Cumulus Wuxi 2018 Proceedings, pp. 667-678 (Peer Reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., McCorkle, B., The Humane Technologies Collaborative: An overview of the “Provocation, Making, Reflection” process. Conference Proceeding, Cumulus Paris 2018 - To Get There: Designing together, Parisian Schools of Art and Design, Paris, France: Boulle, Duperré, Estienne, and Ensaama, April 11 - 13, 2018. Conference Proceeding, page 422-441 - https://cumulusassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CumulusConferenceProceedings_Paris2018_Pages-compressed.pdf (Peer reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., Gill, C., Duncan E., Defining the Essence of Place: A collaborative approach to develop a branded manufacturing workplace environment, DesignEd Asia 2015 (http://www.designedasia.com/), School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. December 1-2, 2015. Conference Proceedings (Peer reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., Melsop, S., Gill, C., Re-envisioning a Design Curriculum, DesignEd Asia 2010. School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, December 2010. Conference Proceedings (Peer Reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., Visual Communication Design for E-Learning: An Art Education Web-based Online Course Design, The International Journal of Learning, Vol. 13, No. 12, June 2007. Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd.: Melbourne, Australia. ISSN 1447-9494 (print), 1447-9540 (online), (Peer Reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., Teaching Branding through Packaging Design in an Undergraduate Course, AIGA Education Conference: IntentContent, Nashville, Tennessee. 2007 (Peer Reviewed).
• Lilly, B.W., C. Gill, P. K. Chan, The Design Evolution of Product Families: Adaptation in Unpredictable Environments, The Design History Society Conference: Design and Evolution, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, 2006 (Peer Reviewed).
• Chan, P. K., Sanders B-N. E., Exploring, Interpreting, and Applying Emotional-Driven Design in Brand Identity Development: A Design Student Case Study, Fourth International Conference on Design and Emotion Proceedings, Ankara, Turkey. 2004 (Peer Reviewed).

Selected Exhibitions

• Minding & Mending Our Ways: Moving Toward an Intentional Future — Conversations with Trees: Connecting the Human Spirit with Nature through Image and Story — Exhibition at the Wayne and Geraldine Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery, The Ohio State University at Marion. Second installment of the Ohio State Marion Sustainability Gallery exhibition series. Summer 2025.
  https://design.osu.edu/news/conversations-trees-opens-osu-marions-kuhn-gallery-inspiring-reflection-nature
• Being and Belonging: Exploring Identity and Community Connections through Conversations with Trees — Installation, augmented reality (AR) experience, and workshop presented during San Diego Design Week at the Mingei International Museum, San Diego, California. Peer-reviewed program sponsored by the World Design Organization, University of San Diego Design Lab, City of San Diego, Design Forward Alliance, and Burnham Center for Community Advancement. Design collaborators: Mila Gajic (Design MFA 2024) and Uday Dandavate (Design MFA 1995). September 21, 2024.
  https://asctech.osu.edu/ets/trees
• COMPAS Directions: A Decade of Ethical Exploration — Exhibition at the Hopkins Hall Gallery, The Ohio State University. Collaborators: Piers Turner, Winston Thompson, Aaron Yarmel, Kate McFarland, Sally Moore (Center for Ethics and Human Values; COMPAS 2023–2024 Planning Committee), and Taylor Olsen, Noor Murteza, Mark Celestina (Department of Design). February 8–20, 2024.
  https://design.osu.edu/news/department-design-and-cehv-join-forces-mark-10th-anniversary-compas-program
• Taller Than the Trees: Growing a Biophilic Sensibility in a Photographic Design Course — Poster exhibited at the IASDR Design Education Conference: Life-Changing Design, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy. October 9–13, 2023.
• Jiangnan, the Poetic Habitat—Jiangnan Context — International poster exhibition and design competition organized by the Jiangnan University School of Design, School of Digital Media, and Jiangnan Cultural Research Institute. School of Design, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China. October 27–November 10, 2019. Poster published in the exhibition catalogue.
• Local and Sustainable Food — Poster exhibition presented at the On Food and Faith Conference, The Methodist Theological School in Ohio. Funded by OSU inFACT. May 2019.
• Water–Wellness–Wellbeing — Poster exhibition presented as part of the World Water Day Research Presentation and Conference, Ohio State Faculty Club Grand Lounge. March 23, 2018.
• An Open Conversation: Transformed—Design Through Research — Exhibition at the Urban Arts Space. September 2016.
• Storytelling Methodologies for Stereoscopic 360° Virtual Reality Filmmaking — Poster exhibited at The Ohio State University International Scholar Research Exposition. Collaborative work with Wooksang Chang and Maria Palazzi (Director, ACCAD). Autumn 2015.
• BIGG: Breakthrough Ideas in Global Glass — Exhibition at The Ohio State University Urban Arts Space and Hawk Galleries, Columbus, Ohio (July 10–October 10, 2008), and SOFA Chicago, Illinois (November 5–8, 2008).