Graduating from MIAD

MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN
See Student Gallery:: Interior Architecture + Design :: Aeron Knutson
Student Gallery :: Interior Architecture + Design :: Aeron Knutson

Even before graduating from MIAD, Aeron Knutson was a designer on the move. As a junior, Knutson created a fresh and innovative coffee bar design for the remodel of MIAD’s Student Union, a project which opened a number of professional doors on the road to a career in Interior Architecture + Design. And what a successful road it has been. Over the next two years, Knutson would go on to design workstations and display walls, and propose full-scale renovations for a variety of spaces within MIAD’s academic facility. While a student, the recognition of Knutson’s progressive designs for MIAD attracted a number of outside clients, and generated several substantial commission projects, leading him to start his own company upon finishing his degree. His company’s commissions included space and furniture design for the William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising &Design, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, Massive Records, as well as many Milwaukee area private residences. Knutson has since obtained a lucrative position in a leading Interior Architecture + Design firm in Southern Florida.

Q. What is your first memorable experience with art and design?
A. As far back as I can remember, I have always loved art and the power of creativity. My first memorable experience with architecture and design was when my senior high school art teacher did a presentation on “Architecture Is Art, Too.” I remember how well Mr. Heil presented Frank Lloyd Wright’s concepts in “Falling Water,” and how he made architecture interesting and fun by discussing architecture philosophy, composition, and aesthetics. That was when it hit me, and I remember thinking to myself, “I could really love doing this.”
Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today?
A. While at MIAD, I developed a strong portfolio of fabricated work, and gained invaluable real-world work experience. MIAD gave me great confidence in my work, and by my sophomore year I knew I would love designing for the rest of my life. I was given great opportunities to design and build my concepts during my four years in IA+D at MIAD. One of the most valuable things I learned at MIAD was presentation. I saw some great ideas lost because the work was not presented well.
Q. What’s the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you’ve experienced life after graduation?
A. I was given a great opportunity to discover my passion for design, without knowing a thing about architecture before I attended MIAD. Now, I’m a successful architectural designer with skilled knowledge in my profession.
Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.
A. It’s funny, I saw architecture as something boring and lifeless before I knew anything about it. In fact, it was intimidating because I didn’t think I would like all the math and technical things in involved with it. Now, it’s the most interesting and exciting subject I would want to study, and all the technical material has just become common knowledge.
Q. Are there any specific parts of your résumé that you would like to share? Notable spaces that you’ve created?
A. I am currently working on Custom Showcase Homes (luxury model homes) for new neighborhood communities in South Florida. While a student, I was very privileged to design my personal work station at MIAD, the Student Union Coffee Bar, Interior Architecture + Design display walls, and oversee, along with fellow IA+D major Deborah Baumgart and Professor Bob Lynch, the renovation of MIAD’s fourth floor Illustration Department. That work is a great example of the potential success a determined student can achieve while attending MIAD.

Interior architectural designer