Kyla Paolucci, b. 1989, is a designer, educator, and researcher exploring vernacular design and cultural literacy. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her career began in entertainment marketing with companies like World Wrestling Entertainment and HBO.
Her work challenges urgency-driven, efficiency-focused design models by advocating for relational, process-based approaches that prioritize constraints, collaboration, and durational research. Drawing on craft traditions and postcolonial design discourse, she examines design as both a site of identity formation and a tool for cultural negotiation.
Kyla is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens, where she teaches Interaction Design and Advanced Studio courses grounded in typography and hands-on making. She also runs Patio, a design practice where she puts evolving critical theory to the test.
Her work challenges urgency-driven, efficiency-focused design models by advocating for relational, process-based approaches that prioritize constraints, collaboration, and durational research. Drawing on craft traditions and postcolonial design discourse, she examines design as both a site of identity formation and a tool for cultural negotiation.
Kyla is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens, where she teaches Interaction Design and Advanced Studio courses grounded in typography and hands-on making. She also runs Patio, a design practice where she puts evolving critical theory to the test.