Nikki Makagiansar

Adjunct Instructor

Nikki Makagiansar (she/her) is a designer, coder, and organizer based in New York City who creates type-driven identity systems and websites. Central to her practice is exploring code as a design and art-making tool, most recently within fiber arts. Nikki also teaches Core Interaction at The New School - Parsons School of Design. Previously, she was a designer at Pentagram, working under partner Giorgia Lupi to develop data-driven and algorithmic identities. Nikki is also a member of The New Museum’s NEW INC, where she continues to investigate the possibilities between design, technology, and solidarity economies. Nikki received her BS in Marketing from Northeastern University and AAS in Communication Design from The New School - Parsons School of Design.

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.