About
Justin Bailey is a designer, maker, and educator based in Bloomington, Indiana. His work investigates how material, fabrication, and structure can participate in the same gesture, creating furniture, lighting, and objects that express movement while remaining true to the nature of their materials. Rather than beginning with predetermined forms, his practice is guided by questions of how making itself can generate expression, allowing processes such as bending, lamination, and assembly to shape the final object.
Working across digital fabrication and traditional craft, Bailey develops systems in which structure, joinery, and material are inseparable from the visual language of a piece. His current research also explores how locally sourced materials can inform design, treating the unique characteristics of available material as the origin of form rather than a constraint.
Justin Bailey's work has been exhibited at WantedDesign NYC Launch Pad, SaloneSatellite in Milan, and Stockholm Furniture Fair's Greenhouse. His work has received a Bronze Award in Lighting Design from the International Design Awards, a MetropolisLikes Award, and a LIT Lighting Design Award, and he was recognized by Azure magazine as one of Toronto Design Week's Top 5 Emerging Talents.
Bailey is an Associate Professor in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University. He received an MFA in 3D Design from the University of Iowa and a BFA in Sculpture from Webster University.
MFA, University of Iowa, 2016
MA, University of Iowa, 2015
BFA, Webster University, 2012
