Austin Shepherd is a recent graduate of the Industrial Design program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He is from Timberlake, North Carolina, and has been deeply interested in design from a young age. Austin made the Dean’s List many times at App State, most recently from Fall 2022 to Spring 2024. From July to August of 2023, Austin worked as an intern at KTL Restorations in Danville, Virginia. He is interested in many design fields; mainly automotive, audio, and lighting.When I approach design problems, I determine how to improve upon, recreate, or reinvent something, often by going a different direction than others. Taking classic design cues and reinventing them in a modern and forward-thinking context is my overarching theme and goal as a designer. I am deeply inspired by mid 20th century automotive, electronic, and furniture design and they drive me to merge and conceptualize ideas in order to push boundaries.