by Charis Marshal, Student Public Relations Writer
A deluxe chicken sandwich comes in a cardboard clamshell. Fries arrive in an open-ended cardboard sleeve. A frosted lemonade comes in a plastic cup with a domed lid. Every day, customers enjoy eating at Chick-fil-A, but few consider the intentional design behind the food processes, equipment, or packaging.
Brian Furlong does. As a design lead at Chick-fil-A, thinking through those details is part of his job. In addition to his corporate role, he now teaches industrial and innovative design courses for Cedarville University through its partnership with the International Center for Creativity(ICC) in Columbus, Ohio.
Cedarville’s industrial and innovative design program is the leader in Christian higher education.
Jim Stevenson, the president and co-founder of the ICC, expressed that Furlong brings real-world experience that benefits Cedarville’s industrial design students.
"Since our founding, the International Center for Creativity has put a high value on experienced and active professionals being a part of our program,” said Stevenson. “Not only is our Industrial and Innovative Design major rooted in experiential learning, but also up-to-the-minute practice, and professionals like Brian are so generous to bring that expertise to our classrooms."
Cedarville’s Bachelor of Arts in Industrial and Innovative Design is ranked No. 5 in the 2025 College Values Online list of best bachelor’s degrees in industrial design. Cedarville is the only university in Ohio in the top ten and the lone evangelical Christian institution in the ranking. Cedarville is joined by Georgia Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University, placing Cedarville among some of the nation’s top design programs.
Furlong’s real-world experience has prepared him well for his new role as affiliated faculty secondary instructor for consumer product design, a senior-level studio course at the ICC. With more than 25 years of experience as an industrial designer and design manager, he has worked in corporate design with Rubbermaid and developed paper-based consumer products for Georgia Pacific. Six years ago, Chick-fil-A recruited Furlong to manage and design for food processes, new products, and new packaging at the restaurant level.
In addition to Furlong’s professional experience in product design, customer insight, model making, and concept generation, he has also taught at the Savannah College of Art and Design. A resident of Atlanta, Georgia, Furlong will commute to Columbus every Sunday to teach at the ICC on Mondays and Tuesdays. A classroom assistant will support the course on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
When asked why he was willing to sacrifice time away from both his family and his position at Chick-fil-A, Furlong pointed to his love for the design process — and for his students.
“It’s the students,” said Furlong. “They always surprise me. I’m interested to see how their faith drives their design work. I can learn a lot from them.”
Having taught in a secular environment, Furlong looks forward to integrating his faith more directly into his teaching. In his own design work, he uses the question, “Is this really helping somebody?” as a filter for decision-making. He encourages his students to adopt a similar mindset and to stay true to their faith.
“Whatever you do, as a practicing designer, you are putting things into the world that will have consequences – good and bad,” said Furlong. “No design is perfect. Be aware of that. What are the social implications? What are the business implications? What are the faith implications? Think through those things. Be a thinking designer.”
The ICC and Cedarville’s industrial design students will benefit not only from Furlong’s industry experience, but also from the thoughtful integration of his faith into every aspect of his work.
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it ranks among Ohio's largest private universities and is recognized by The Wall Street Journal as being among the nation’s top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.
