Principal, Perkins Design Ltd.
Nancy co-founded IDSA's Women's Section in 1992 with Sharyn Thompson, FIDSA. She was awarded an IDSA Fellowship in 1993 and currently serves as vice chair of the newly formed Disability Section. She has held corporate, consultant and adjunct teaching positions and has designed products in numerous categories including consumer products, cellular communications, mass transit vehicles, marine products, architectural components, and industrial equipment.
She has authored articles on design, materials & processes education and the history of women in industrial design. Nancy has been featured in Feminine Ingenuity by Anne Macdonald, the Philadelphia Inquirer and ID magazine, retrospectives of women industrial designers: Bard Graduate Center, (2000) and the Association of Women Industrial Designers (1994). The New Angle Voice podcast (2023) The Legacy of Invention highlights Nancy’s ongoing research of her great aunt Anna’s career, an early twentieth century architect and inventor.
Nancy received her B.F.A in industrial design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Vice Chair, Disability Section
Reflections on Our Progress
Nancy Perkins, FIDSA and Vicki Matranga, H/IDSA
Statistics reveal that professional advancement and life management options have improved dramatically for professional women, yet we know there is much more to be done. The Women’s Section, IDSA’s first special interest Section, was founded in 1992 by Sharyn Thompson FIDSA and Nancy Perkins FIDSA to promote the visibility of women in the profession. Now named Women in Design, our group’s events prove the value in continuing our dialogue. Nancy will share insights gained during her 50 years in the profession as a designer, design manager and CEO of a manufacturing company.
Vicki Matranga, H/IDSA, Design Programs Coordinator for the International Housewares Association, will share stories of lesser-known women whose professional accomplishments are under-recognized. She will discuss unique professional development opportunities and inspiring career paths of some selected women in industrial design and related fields during the 1930-1970 era.
Career Storytelling: Women in Design Panel Discussion
Moderated by Nancy Perkins, FIDSA, president and CEO, Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind
Featuring:
Founding Co-Chair, Women in Design Section
