And we're back to school with a roundup of our editors top picks for design students. Celebrating our anniversary has been a great way to remember how it all got started—as a student project for an industrial design program at Pratt. Now, 20 years later, we're proud to continue providing design news and resources for the community and what better way to do so than to kick off the school year with the basics. Whether you're entering your senior year or your first, here are our favorite resources and ideas for mastering this year's work flow.

Gallery: Design School Workshops

We start with a behind-the-scenes look at four design schools and their workshop facilities to understand the foundations of making things in design schools today. See the milling machines, lathes, vacuum formers and 3D printers used in facilities around New York City and hear from program heads about why they've chosen to use these tools.

Objects from the Innate Gestures workshop at Cranbrook with guest designer Leon Ransmeier and 3D designer-in-residence Scott Klinker

D-School Futures

In D-School Futures, program chairs from design schools around the United States share key insights and reflect on the current state of design.

• Art Center's Karen Hofmann on the ever-expanding role of the designer

• Carnegie Mellon's Wayne Chung on training designers to solve wicked problems

• CCA's Sandrine Lebas on why designers of physical experiences will always be in demand

• Cranbrook's Scott Klinker on why ID education should move students beyond skills toward 'cultural maturity'

• Georgia Tech's Jim Budd on why there has never been a better time to pursue a career in industrial design

• Parson's Rama Chorpash on navigating design dichotomies

• Pratt's Scott Lundberg on teaching ID students 'to think and act with change'

• RISD's Soojung Ham on why now is a great time to embark on and ID career

• SAIC's Lisa Norton on why students must learn to befriend failure

• SCAD's Owen Foster on the value of being a hybrid designer

• SVA's Allan Chochinov on the 'difficult, conflicted, blurry territories' facing design

• University of Cincinnati's Craig Vogel on why today's design careers are akin to improvisational jazz

• University of Michigan's Bruce Tharp on integrative design

Photo by Kyle Oldfield

And check out more advice for starting off the school year on the right foot:

Advice to Design Students:

Teachers (including Core77 partner and SVA Product of Design Chair Allan Chochinov), alumni and fellow design students share words of wisdom on everything from how to sketchnote to where to find inspiration.

What Industrial Design Students Once Had to Carry

In this fun blast from the past, take a look at what ID students in the past were carrying in their toolbox and share your current back to school supplies for a chance to win a gift certificate to Hand-Eye Supply!