Lauren McDermott is a furniture designer whose work includes high-end limited production and commissioned office and residential furniture as well as educational and other institutional environments. Her research focuses on methods of design education and on the design of educational environments.

Professor McDermott is involved in art and design educational assessment and has served since 1998 as a National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) site visitor. As a member of the industrial design faculty at ASU she teaches industrial design fundamentals, design presentation, design modeling, furniture design, and studio methods for industrial design practice.