Meredith Davis is Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of Graphic Design at NC State University. She is also Director of the College of Design PhD in Design and teaches graduate courses in design and cognition. Meredith holds degrees in design and education from Cranbrook Academy of Art and Penn State University respectively. She taught for 13 years at Virginia Commonwealth University and has been at NC State for 16 years, where she served 10 years as department chair. Meredith currently teaches graduate courses in design and cognition and undergraduate courses in typography and design theory.

Meredith was principal in the graphic design firm Communication Design from 1979-1989. She is the recipient of more than 50 national and international design awards and her work appeared in Graphis, ID Magazine, Print, Graphic Design USA, ACD 100, Creativity, Typography, and other publications.

Meredith is a former president of the American Center for Design and the Graphic Design Education Association. She served on the national board of directors of the AIGA and as a frequent member of its various committees. She is currently the AIGA representative to the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and a member of its accreditation commission. In this position, Meredith has led the authoring of six briefing papers on graphic design education. Meredith consults with colleges and universities on curriculum development and assessment and has provided nearly 50 external reviews of faculty for tenure and promotion.

Meredith’s research explores the use of design in achieving the goals of educational reform in K-12 schools. She has served as a member of the development team for the National Assessment of Educational Progress in the Arts and on the Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership for the US Department of Education. She has taught for the Harvard Graduate School of Education and served as a consultant to the departments of education in Wisconsin and Michigan. Meredith authored the study of design in K-12 education for the National Endowment for the Arts, titled Design as a Catalyst for Learning; the book received the 1999 CHOICE award from the Association of College and Research Libraries. She has also served as consultant to the Smithsonian Office of Education and Museum Studies and reviews professional development proposals for the US Department of Education. . Her work has been funded by the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology, and Science; Kenan Institute for the Arts; Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise; National Endowment for the Arts; and several state arts and humanities commissions. She is currently a member of a National Science Foundation sponsored team exploring the Science of Teaching Science in K-12 schools. 

Meredith is currently under contract to Thames and Hudson/UK for a series of college-level textbooks on graphic design, including an undergraduate introduction to design theory. She is a member of the editorial boards of Design Issues and Design Studies Review and reads manuscripts for MIT Press, Visible Language, and Design Studies Journal. Meredith authored the study of design in K-12 education for the National Endowment for the Arts, titled Design as a Catalyst for Learning; the book received the 1999 CHOICE award from the Association of College and Research Libraries. She is a frequent contributor to journals on design and design education and wrote the description of the discipline for high school students for the College Board.