Pratt Institute of Art & Design

“Turning Designers into Design Entrepreneurs with a Social Conscience”

The Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation has been a part of Pratt Institute since 2002. Pratt is an internationally recognized higher-ed institution for art, design and architecture. Our graduates go into the world as architects, product designers, interior designers, communication designers, digital media designers and fashion designers to shape the buildings, products, services and technologies that provide for and give shape to our culture.

The vision of “the incubator” is to capture the innovative thinking of our students and turn great ideas into viable businesses that also consider the environmental and social impact as a part of their “triple” bottom line.  To date we have supported the launch of over 30 businesses – in five sectors; product design, clean energy, fashion, design consulting and social innovation. These companies are developing green products, green jobs and a green economy by offering space, a community that shares values that define success, and access to educational resources and mentorship that tie together business expertise with sustainable best practices that support growing businesses that consider the environment and society from the outset. The Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation a new model for design education. Through our Center for Continuing and Professional Studies (CCPS) we have launched a Certificate program in Design Entrepreneurship that has integrated sustainable  best practices throughout each course as well as specific courses focused on life-cyle assessment, eco-design strategies and business and sustainability. We provide the tools, space and support that will populate our world with innovative solutions.