Levon Kostandyan
Industrial design MID
Rhode Island School of Design
Specialisms: Industrial Design / Design for Social Good / Design Research
Location: New York, United States
Levon Kostandyan
First Name: Levon
Last Name: Kostandyan
Specialisms: Industrial Design / Design for Social Good / Design Research
Sectors:
My Location: New York, United States
University / College: Rhode Island School of Design
Course / Program Title: Industrial design MID
About
Levon Kostandyan is an Armenian artist, designer, and educator based in Rhode Island, with strong ties to New York. Their work unfolds at the crossroads of material exploration, ecological awareness, and cultural storytelling. Drawing on Armenian heritage and contemporary design practices, Levon creates objects and systems that act as vessels of memory, inviting intimate encounters with identity, place, and interspecies relationships.
Levon’s process is deeply research-driven and hands-on. They experiment with craft techniques, emerging technologies, and material innovation to uncover layers of meaning embedded in form and function. Through this blend, their work not only serves practical purposes but also fosters dialogue around belonging, hybridity, and the living relationships between humans, animals, and environments.
Holding a master’s degree in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a bachelor’s degree in New Media from SUNY Purchase, Levon combines rigorous research with interdisciplinary methods. As an educator, they have taught at RISD and mentored students in design and fabrication, integrating digital and physical prototyping, open-source design, and material innovation to craft meaningful and impactful experiences.
People with hybrid identities navigate cultural landscapes shaped by displacement, continuity, and adaptation, where design becomes a way to engage with heritage. It carries both the responsibility to honor cultural roots and the possibility to transform them. The challenge of Designing Between Worlds is not choosing one identity over another, but acknowledging that both shape us. Through design, we can create objects that hold space for both, not to resolve identity, but to honor its complexity. This project focuses on cultural materiality, exploring how materials embedded with cultural narratives can adapt to new contexts while remaining anchored in memory, symbolism, and tradition. By shaping works from the pomegranate, the project demonstrates how material and narrative can embody resilience, belonging, and transformation in a changing world.
Competitions
