Blog

Beyond the Classroom: Students Explore the World’s Oldest Design System During XA Day of Professionalization

Michigan State University’s Experience Architecture (XA) program took learning beyond the classroom during its 2025 XA Day of Professionalization, which brought students together with industry professionals for hands-on, experiential learning.

“These days are not about telling students what a career looks like. They’re about giving students the space to explore how their values, curiosity, and creativity can shape the kind of professional they want to become,” said Casey McArdle, Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures and Director of the XA program. “Students see how humanities-based thinking, design rhetoric, and professional expertise intersect our work in meaningful ways.”

A man standing outdoors near a large tree, wearing a light-colored sweatshirt and glasses, with his hands spread.
An Experience Architecture student sits on the grass at Beal Botanical Garden, focused on writing in a notebook. Another student stands nearby.
A wide shot of students arranged in a large circle on a lawn around a central tree, where a manis leading a group discussion. A building is visible in the background.
Nick Zolfo (top left photo), Design Program Manager at Cisco, discusses biomimicry, which looks to nature’s designs, processes, and ecosystems to solve human problems. This XA Day of Professionalization presentation included a nature walk through Beal Botanical Garden where students explored the garden and tested some of the concepts Zolfo shared. (Photos by Nathaniel Weeldreyer)

That exploration came to life through special guest Nick Zolfo, Design Program Manager at Cisco, who discussed the concept of biomimicry, which, Zolfo explained, is “the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes.” Or, rather, “let’s take clever designs from nature and use them to solve our human problems.”

Zolfo discussed how nature is the world’s oldest design system and has worked incredibly for millions of years, so “why shouldn’t human designers take inspiration and learn from its wisdom?”

“These days are not about telling students what a career looks like. They’re about giving students the space to explore how their values, curiosity, and creativity can shape the kind of professional they want to become.”

Casey McArdle, XA Program Director

Zolfo highlighted three areas where nature excels: evolution, sustainability, and “vibes.” He said that evolution is the very essence of nature, as nature has always evolved to meet the challenges in front of it and has created incredible, long-lasting strategies to overcome these challenges. These same evolving systems showcase how sustainable they are, and we can look to nature for examples of creating to sustain. “Vibes,” Zolfo explained are how the colors of nature often have a calming effect and how being active in nature releases positive endorphins, reducing stress and boosting mood. When we take the time to slow down and appreciate nature, we can take these inspirations and apply them to modern problems and concepts.

A group of Michigan State University students stands under a wooden pergola at Beal Botanical Garden. They are gathered in a semi-circle, listening to a presentation.
Participants of the 2025 XA Day of Professionalization gathered at Beal Botanical Garden. (Photo by Nathaniel Weeldreyer)

Zolfo’s presentation began in the MSU Library and ended at nearby Beal Botanical Garden where he led students on a guided “wonder wander” to test some of the concepts he shared with examples from the natural resources readily available in the garden, transforming the campus landscape into a living design lab.

With support from Angelica Bajos, Community and Sustainability Coordinator at the garden, Zolfo set a few ground rules to help students as they immersed themselves in the concept of biomimicry. He encouraged them to wander, letting their curiosity and instincts guide them, to pay attention and reflect on their experiences, and to write down their feelings as they moved through the space.

For this exercise, Zolfo provided students with three prompts to choose from: cybersecurity, sustainable design, or accessibility. From these prompts, students were asked to seek lateral inspiration sources or other examples of their problem being solved, lateral inspiration tactics or how those examples solve the problem, and new ideas or new possible solutions inspired by their experience. 

A student in the Experience Architecture program sits on a wooden garden bench at Beal Botanical Garden. She is wearing a black jacket and sunglasses, focused on a notebook while surrounded by the natural setting of the garden.
A man in a white shirt and glasses speaks with a student in a red winter coat at Beal Botanical Garden. The student holds a notebook.
A student crouches low to the ground to examine plants at Beal Botanical Garden. She is holding a notebook and a pen.
An woman in a green sweater stands in Beal Botanical Garden, holding a notebook and gesturing with a pen.
Experience Architecture students examined the intricacies of the plants and trees they encountered at Beal Botanical Garden during the 2025 XA Day of Professionalization. The students were encouraged to wander around the garden, letting their curiosity and instincts guide them, to pay attention and reflect on their experiences, and to write down their feelings as they moved through the space. (Photos by Nathaniel Weeldreyer)

As students explored the garden, some worked in small groups others independently, they were encouraged to be as bold and creative with their ideas as possible. Venturing from one end of the garden to the other, the students examined the intricacies of the plants and trees, considering their unique characteristics and the lessons they may reveal. Returning to their prompts, they considered issues related to cybersecurity, sustainable design, or accessibility, and then regrouped to share their findings and to reflect on their experiences.

“We were especially excited to learn from Nick about biomimicry and design, especially when we’re often staring at our computers and mobile devices. This was a way to get outside and broaden our perspective.”

Ann Burke, Assistant Professor

“We were especially excited to learn from Nick about biomimicry and design, especially when we’re often staring at our computers and mobile devices. This was a way to get outside and broaden our perspective,” said Ann Burke, Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures, who invited Zolfo to present at the 2025 XA Day of Professionalization.

McArdle said that Zolfo’s thinking “takes what students learn in our classrooms and places it directly into lived, embodied experience. It reminds them that Experience Architecture is not abstract, it is practiced, felt, and shaped in the world around them.”

Three students stand together in Beal Gardens, talking and taking notes.
A presenter gestures while standing beside a projected slide that reads, “To be honest everywhere, if you start looking around every texture, color and pattern they are all so unique,” with several words highlighted in different colors.
A group of students stands in a wide circle on a grassy area outdoors, listening to an instructor beneath a large tree in a Beal Gardens.
The 2025 XA Day of Professionalization took place on Nov. 14 at Beal Botanical Garden and the MSU Library where Nick Zolfo (top right photo) began his presentation on biomimicry. (Photos by Nathaniel Weeldreyer)

MSU’s XA program is a cross-disciplinary user experience degree focused on creating improved and just experiences in the world. Grounded in the belief that people deserve usable, accessible, and sustainable spaces, the program prepares students to engage thoughtfully with real physical and digital environments and meaningful design work to shape those spaces and how humans interact within them. Centered on a humanities-based design rhetoric, XA bridges theory and practice through experiential learning and challenging projects that build skills, perspective, and professional confidence. 

As the 2025 XA Day of Professionalization concluded, Zolfo shared his closing remarks and students asked questions about his work and how he applies biomimicry in his user-experience practices.

“Bringing professionals like Nick into the XA program demonstrates to students that their education is relevant, future-facing, and deeply connected to real design challenges. It validates the interdisciplinary approach at the heart of Experience Architecture.” 

Casey McArdle, XA Program Director

“Bringing professionals like Nick into the XA program demonstrates to students that their education is relevant, future-facing, and deeply connected to real design challenges,” McArdle said. “It validates the interdisciplinary approach at the heart of Experience Architecture.” 

The 2025 XA Day of Professionalization took place on Nov. 14. For more information about the Experience Architecture program or the XA Day of Professionalization, contact Casey McArdle at cmcardle@msu.edu. For any questions about the presentation on biomimicry, contact Nick Zolfo at nzo@cisco.com.

By Nathaniel Weeldreyer

Categories: Student / Student / WRAC / XA