This collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks.
Meredith Davis has been a professor of graphic design at North Carolina State University since 1989. She served for ten years as the chair of the Department of Graphic Design (now the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design) and four years as head of the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Design program. Her research explores the ways in which design can be used in educational reform efforts in K-12 schools, and the relationship between design and cognition.
The Meredith Davis Papers, 1981-2025, contain journal and magazine articles, lecture notes and presentation materials, small- and large-scale design work, and awards and honors related to Meredith J. Davis's career as a graphic designer and educator. These papers document Davis's teaching activities, participation in professional organizations, design work, and research.
Meredith Davis has been a professor of graphic design at North Carolina State University since 1989. She served for ten years as the chair of the Department of Graphic Design (now the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design) and four years as head of the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Design program. Her research explores the ways in which design can be used in educational reform efforts in K-12 schools, and the relationship between design and cognition.
Before coming to NC State, Davis taught for thirteen years at Virginia Commonwealth University. Between both schools, Davis has taught courses in design and cognition, design education, design studio, and typography, and she has won numerous teaching awards for graduate education. She is also a fellow and the 2005 National Medalist of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. She is a former president of the American Center for Design and the founding president of the Graphic Design Education Association. From 1979 to 1989, Davis was the principal in the graphic design firm, Communication Design. She has won over 50 national and international design awards, and her work has appeared in multiple professional publications.
The Meredith Davis Papers, 1981-2025, contain journal and magazine articles, lecture notes and presentation materials, small- and large-scale design work, and awards and honors related to Meredith J. Davis's career as a graphic designer and educator. These papers document Davis's teaching activities, participation in professional organizations, design work, and research.
Series 1: Publications, 1981-2014, contains journal and magazine articles that reflect Davis's research interests in the use of design in achieving K-12 educational reform and the relationship between cognition and design. Davis's articles have appeared in many prominent design journals, including the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, the Arts Education Policy Review, and the Design Management Journal. This series also contains publications in which Davis's design work appeared. These include AIGA USA, Creativity, ID: Magazine of International Design, Print Regional Design Annual, and Typography.
Series 2: Presentations, 1989-2014, contain notes and presentation materials for the numerous conferences and lectures that Davis has given over the course of her career, nationally and internationally. Many of these presentations stemmed from her research and were later published.
Series 3: Design Portfolios, 1981-2001, contains examples of Davis's small- and large-scale design work, including brochures, posters, magazine and report covers, and exhibition catalogs. Many of these materials won awards for design excellence. Awards and honors that Davis has received for her design work can be seen in Series 4: Awards and Honors, 1981-2005.
This collection is arranged in four series: Publications, 1981-2014 (Series 1); Presentations, 1989-2014 (Series 2); Design Work (Series 3); and Awards and Honors, 1981-2005 (Series 4). Series 1 and 2 are arranged alphabetically by publication or presentation title. Series 3 is arranged by size of the design work. Series 4 is arranged alphabetically by award received.
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], Meredith Davis Papers, MC 00541, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Gift of Meredith J. Davis, 2014 (Accession number 2014.0264)
Processed by: Rose Buchanan, February 2015; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rose Buchanan, February 2015; Digital materials processed by Jessica Rayman, 2016 September. Finding aid updated by Ella Mayfield to reflect accession, 2025 December. Additional processing by: Emma Esser, 2026 March; Collection guide updated by: Cathy Dorin-Black, 2026 March
The collection is organized into four principal series:
This series contains prominent examples of Davis's research into the ways in which design can promote K-12 educational reform, the relationship between design and cognition, and the relationship between design theory and practice, among other topics. Davis's articles appeared in many prominent design journals, including the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, the Arts Education Policy Review, and the Design Management Journal. Shorter articles have appeared online through websites like designobserver.com as well. Also featured in this series are publications in which Davis's design work appeared, including AIGA USA, Creativity, ID: Magazine of International Design, Print Regional Design Annual, and Typography. Several interviews in which Davis discussed her design work and the future of design education also appear in this series, as do publications reflecting Davis's professional involvement in the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and the American Center for Design. Of particular interest are six briefing papers that Davis authored on graphic design education as a member of the NASAD accreditation commission, and a Quality Enhancement Plan for North Carolina State University's reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in 2014.
Please note that Davis also presented several published articles included in this series at conferences and universities around the world. Therefore, it may be useful to cross-reference this series with Series 2: Presentations.
This series is first arranged alphabetically by book or journal publication, and then chronologically within publication titles.
This AIGA initiative brought together designers and technologists by inviation to address the emergence of "user experience design" as an area of practice. Under the leadership of Clement Mok, this group met over successive summers to chart a path for the role design would play in interaction design. Meredith Davis was among the members of this group and authored the briefing paper on teaching experience design for AIGA and the National Assocaiation of Schools of Art and Design.
Meredith Davis was asked by Chancellor Larry Monteith to lead the development of a graphic identity for the university. Following a year of auditing communications and sharing ideas with various constituents in the university, Meredith Davis successfully implemented a new identity in 1998.
Meredith Davis's thesis for the Master of Fine Arts in Design at Cranbrook Academy of Art was recognized by ID Magazine in its 22nd annual review. The project is included in the NCSU Library.
DesignWise was a program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and held classes in the summer at the National Building Museum in Washington DC. Meredith Davis served as one of four faculty and co-authored the curriculum described in this book.
Written and designed by Meredith Davis and others
Davis guest edtited this special issue of she ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, Education, and Innovation and authored three articles as a summary of the work. The goal was to reform design education. The project gathered feedback from a steering committee, 120 co-authors of topical working groups, and more than 700 international volunteers.
Articles featured: "Preface to the Special Issue on the Future of Design Education," "Rethinking Design Education," "Credentialling: Educational Pathways in Design."
This series contains copies of presentations and presentation notes that Davis gave at conferences and universities, both nationally and internationally. The series also includes Davis's curriculum vitae, which highlights the more than 140 lectures that she has delivered over the course of her career. A number of presentations focused on methods of expanding and improving higher education in design; ways in which design can promote educational reform in K-12 schools; the relationship between design and cognition; and the need for more partnerships between design professionals and educators. Davis presented in Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands, as well as the United States. While the majority of materials are paper copies of presentations, a DVD of selected presentations is also included.
Please note that some of Davis's presentations emerged from her publications in design magazines and journals, while other presentations were later published in scholarly periodicals. Therefore, it may be useful to cross-reference this series with Series 1: Publications.
This series is arranged alphabetically by presentation title or in some cases, by conference or organization.
This series contains posters, brochures, magazine and report covers, and exhibition catalogs that Davis designed for a variety of government agencies, heritage institutions, and commercial enterprises. Of particular note are a series of brochures and safety posters for the Virginia/North Carolina Power Company; multiple exhibition catalogs for the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida; "In Bondage and Freedom," an exhibition catalog for the Valentine Museum; and "Sue Coe, Police State," an exhibition catalog for the Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University. Davis won awards for a number of these designs. Therefore, it may be useful to cross-reference this series with Series 4: Awards and Honors.
This series is arranged by size of the design work: small-scale or large-scale. Materials in Binders 1 and 2 are small-scale designs. Materials from the Black Portfolio are large-scale designs.
This series contains awards and honors that Davis has received for her design work. Over the course of her career, Davis has been the recipient of more than 50 national and international design awards. Included here are certificates of excellence from AIGA, the Annual Type Directors' Club, Print Regional, and STA 100. Also included is the Gold Medal Award that Davis received from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Davis is the recipient of numerous teaching awards for graduate education as well.
Please note that Davis received many of these awards and honors for design work that appears in Series 3: Design Portfolios. Therefore, it may be useful to cross-reference Series 4 with Series 3.
This series is first arranged alphabetically by honor or award received. In the event that Davis received the same award more than once, the materials are then arranged chronologically.
From left to right, front to back: John Sawyer, Chicago educator; Irma Zandl, New York marketing director; Phil Meggs, design historian; Michael Brock; Los Angeles designer; Karl Malden, actor; unidentified man from the Department of State; Doug Lewis, National Gallery curator; Virginia Noelke, historian from the University of Texas/San Angelo; Meredith Davis; David Eynon, writer; Ron Robinson, advertising executive; Digger Phelps, basketball coach at Notre Dame and ESPN sports commentator
In 1986, Meredith Davis was elected the founding president of the Graphic Design Education Association in a Washington DC meeting of college design educators. She served again from 1992-1994.
This collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks.
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[Identification of item], Meredith Davis Papers, MC 00541, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.