The College of Design is celebrating its 75th anniversary with the Leading by Design exhibit at the Gregg Museum.

The exhibit was put together to highlight the history of the College of Design. Jennifer Peavey, project manager for the 75th year celebration of the College of Design, said the event is a culmination of the history of the college.

“We are looking at the 75th anniversary of the college as one of the big tenets of the celebration, looking back at our history and having a more accurate description of our history,” Peavey said. “Part of this exhibition is being able to share that history with the public.”

Mary Hauser, interim director of the Gregg Museum, said a combination of different types of artwork from the archives of Gregg Museum and the College of Design are on display.

“The pieces on the view are from the Gregg’s collection, with a few loans from Special Collections at the library and the College of Design itself,” said Mary Hauser, interim director of the Gregg Museum.

The collection includes physical and digital displays created over the years and highlights the variety of art from the College of Design. All the work was created by alumni of the college, and many come from the Gregg Museum’s own collection.

The physical collection includes paintings, sculptures, sketches and models of buildings as well as a display of the drawn plans and the physical model of Raleigh’s own Dorton Arena.

Along with the collection on display, the College of Design created a digital slideshow based on its archives to include work that could not physically be in the exhibit.

“The digital component was compiled by Kristen Schaffer and folks at the College of Design,” Hauser said. “They have been doing research in the archives and special collections about the College of Design and its history, and they found images during that process and have used those to help fill out the areas that our collection can’t explain.”

Founded in 1948, the College of Design, previously called the School of Design, has changed dramatically since its opening.

“I think it’s interesting to see the development of something we are currently a part of,” Hauser said. “A lot about the college is similar, but a lot of it’s different just in terms of size of the student body, the types of technologies they use, the types of majors they offer. It’s evolved, you know. There’s a connection, but it’s also different.”

The exhibition also looks to the future of the college. Peavey said the exhibit and its history is about “looking towards our future and building onto the past.”

The name “Leading by Design” is being used for all of the College of Design’s 75th celebrations, connecting design to leadership.

“I think that being a leader, having a design thinking background, helps me in a way that is maybe not expected,” Hauser said. “So for me, ‘Leading by Design’ is about combining design thinking and design skills with leadership.”

In addition to giving a glimpse into the history of the College of Design, the exhibit will allow for recognition of the college’s impact on the NC State community, Raleigh and beyond.