Pam Daniels Retires from Segal Design Institute

After a decade of teaching and leadership, Pam Daniels leaves behind a legacy of joy, innovation, and human-centered design.

Pam Daniels is stepping away from a role that has shaped a generation of designers and stepping into a well-earned new chapter of her own design.  

As she retires from her role as clinical professor at Northwestern University’s Segal Design Institute, colleagues and students are reflecting on the deep, joyful mark she’s left on Segal’s culture: one built on curiosity, creativity, and care.  

“The contributions of Pam Daniels to Segal and the student experience at Northwestern are significant,” said Greg Holderfield, executive director of the Segal Design Institute. “Her passion for empowering all students to become makers has fueled a hands-on culture of experimentation, discovery, and innovation, which is the bedrock of Segal. It has been a joy working alongside Pam, and I truly value her energy, insights, skills, and friendship.” 

Daniels didn’t follow a traditional path to design education because she was never one for traditional paths. From media strategy in Mexico City to design studios in Chicago, from painting to prototyping, from corporate systems to student-centered classrooms, she has aimed to follow her instincts. Her career has been defined not just by innovation, but by reinvention. 

Early sparks of creativity 

Daniels grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, where creativity always fueled her. She made her own dress for senior ball and received her first paycheck at age thirteen working for the local recreation department’s drama program. Having grown up with one of the earliest IBM home computers, Daniels was never intimidated by technology, and it sparked a lifelong love of leaning into the unknown. 

At Tufts University, Daniels majored in French and briefly considered a career in diplomacy until one international relations class steered her in a different direction. People and culture, not politics, were what inspired her. She worked as a resident assistant, a bookstore clerk, and most memorably, as a receptionist in the admissions office. She loved being a welcoming face and helping others feel at ease. In the early days of search engines, she even taught the university librarians how to use computers and run database queries. 

Though she didn’t major in design, it was a constant in her college life. Her roommates joked she should start a magazine called "Better Dorms and Gardens.” She made her own curtains and duvet and felt most at home improving the spaces around her. What she didn’t yet know was that this desire to improve the world around her would become her life’s work. 

A career built on reinvention 

After college, she joined Leo Burnett as a media buyer/planner and landed on the Procter & Gamble account. She was handed a $25 million budget to plan and execute national media campaigns for Pert Plus shampoo. She didn’t flinch and she figured it out. That same driven, human-centered approach propelled her through an 18-year career, leading media strategy across Latin America, redesigning global operations, and mentoring teams across continents.  

By the time she left Leo Burnett, Daniels was SVP of global operations and leading large-scale systems redesigns that impacted teams worldwide. But what she’s most proud of isn’t the title: it’s the moments when someone said, “This system is so intuitive,” or when their eyes lit up because new tools had been designed around their needs. That’s how she knew she’d done her job.  

After nearly two decades in advertising, Daniels paused to reflect. She called it her “Summer of Love,” filled with long days at the beach, time spent reading poetry, and jumping in to help friends with innovation work at their nonprofits. A chance encounter led her to IDEO, where she was invited into a new role focused on workplace culture. Her work sparked lasting internal change at IDEO, including a four-week vacation policy. 

From there, she enrolled in graduate studies at IIT to study design thinking but eventually stepped back to focus on painting for a bit and recharging before finding her way to Northwestern.  

Finding a home at Segal 

While doing a photoshoot for a product designed at IIT, she walked into the Segal Design Institute and was introduced to Walter Herbst, the founder of the Master of Science in Product Design and Development Management (mpd2) Program. In 2013, Daniels joined the mpd2 program and said she felt like she was stepping into one of the most vibrant, affirming chapters of her life.  

For the first time, she had access to the tools and resources to bring the ideas in her head into the world. She was all in — staying late in the Ford Prototyping Lab, coming back after dinner, and throwing herself fully into making.  

Daniels dove headfirst into the maker community. She was one of the original members of what would eventually become Chicago innovation center mHUB, launched a manufacturing nonprofit called Design House, and cocreated an award-winning design practice, Welcome Industries, with designer and grad school classmate Brandon Williams.  

From maker to mentor 

Teaching, though, came as a surprise. A Northwestern undergraduate student asked Daniels to join as an instructor for a summer design program in China, and while she was in Hangzhou, she met Segal faculty member Bruce Ankenman. After observing her in action, Bruce offered her a full-time teaching role at Segal. Although teaching hadn’t been in her plans, she said yes.  

“Teaching design is a little different from other academic pursuits because being the professor isn't about having the answers,” Daniels said. “The answers are something we create and discover together by uncovering needs, honing our powers of observation, and engaging with the people we're designing for.” 

Together, she and Brandon became Segal designers in residence and turned a breakout room in Ford into a creative hub known as Studio 5. She later co-led the Bay Area Immersion Program and ultimately developed 12 new Segal courses, including DSGN 300: Designing Your Life and DSGN 208: Design Thinking and Doing. She and Williams also cofounded the Corner Makery, a space where students could dream, prototype, and make ideas real. 

“I am convinced that due to Pam’s influence, nearly every one of her students in every one of her classes will fulfill many dreams that they had before coming into the class and will also fulfill dreams that they discovered during her class,” Ankenman said. “This is the effect of a master teacher.” 

Daniels has been recognized for teaching excellence at Northwestern and was named a Distinguished Clinical Professor in 2021. She was also selected by the 2017 senior class to be the one professor from amongst all faculty at Northwestern University to give a “last lecture” before graduation. 

“The positive impact Pam has made on Northwestern students’ creative confidence cannot be overstated,” said Kim Hoffmann, design education and strategic initiatives lead at Segal. “With Pam as their mentor and supporter, students discover the power within themselves to create new things they never dreamed they could before.” 

As she transitions out of her full-time role, Daniels leaves behind a legacy not only of innovative teaching, but of radical generosity. She taught students to make with joy, to lead with empathy, and to approach life itself as a design challenge. 

“To the next generation of designers and makers, I'll echo what the Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter has to say,” Daniels said. “‘Fear not, because the future is yours.’”