Pixar on campus

Warren- who holds the position of Animator and Creative Lead for Dimensional Animation at Pixar Animation Studios- has worked on several classic animated films including Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, WALL:E and Ratatouille, returned to his design roots to deliver his speech as part of the School of Design’s Reveal: The Future of Design conference. The event also marked the launch of this year’s graduating students’ design exhibition.

Warren joined Pixar in 1995 and has worked with Oscar-winning directors Brad Bird and John Lasseter. He was part of the team responsible for developing the Patht tool that enables fish to swim in three dimensions – used to add realism to the fish movements in the award-winning animation film, Finding Nemo.  

The Dean of the School of Design, Professor James More, said: “Many of our graduates have made a dynamic impact in the world of design. Within our exhibition of graduating students we have created a window display at the School of Design to showcase the achievements of our alumni. Our graduates have gone on to enjoy successful careers in key positions in global corporations such as Apple and Volvo.”

Other influential Alumni attending the conference included Bruce Montgomery, chairman of The British Menswear Guild, Steven Kyffin, Senior Director for Philips (graduate and one of Northumbria’s 2009 honorary graduates), and Sue Wilson, Head of Design Research & Development for Mars.

Reveal: The Future of Design conference was an opportunity for Northumbria’s design graduates to debate issues affecting the design industry today, share perspectives and take inspiration from each other.  During the conference delegates also had an opportunity to look at the work of graduating students at Reveal 09 – the end of year Design degree show which included pieces from final year students studying 3D Design, Design for Industry, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Multimedia Design, and Transportation Design.