
Lindsay Tan is a best-selling author and award-winning design strategist whose expertise has been featured in places like Forbes, Reuters, Faculty Focus, Homes & Gardens, CBC, and NBC. Her strategies, systems, and toolkits are used by high-performing teams around the world. Tens of thousands more have benefited from her books, workshops, programs, and seminars.
Armed with a unique skillset, Tan has been able to bridge gaps and jump fences throughout her career, applying her design insight to interiors, exteriors, exhibits, visual merchandising, stage, TV and film, products, digital and print media, UX, virtual and augmented reality, apps, and games.
She is widely recognized as an academic entrepreneur and thought leader who breaks the mold at scale – named Commercial Interior Design’s Favourite Face of Design, Top Hat’s Most Innovative Educator, and among her field’s Most Admired Educators by DesignIntelligence.

Her ability to simplify complex ideas into engaging sound bites without compression loss made her an adept collaborator and in-demand expert source for journalists for over 20 years. You can find her expertise featured in places like CBC, NBC, Forbes, Reuters, Homes & Gardens, and Faculty Focus.
She has written numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, trade publications, and popular press. She was a founding member of the Tallahassee School of Design and pioneered the fields of design ecology and environmental symbology.
Tan is author of the #1 best-seller Project Management Playbook and the award-winning Brilliance Hacks for Work-Life Balance as well as two interactive digital textbooks. She has been a named and unnamed contributor, expert reviewer, editor, and ghostwriter on a variety of writing projects over the course of her career.
She worked in higher education for over two decades, spanning three top-ranked programs. During her time in the classroom, she developed almost 100 unique courses and maintained a five-star average across 19,000 student reviews.
Her contributions to teaching and research earned her rank and tenure as the W. Allen and Martha Reimer Reed Professor at Auburn University, an R1 land-, sea-, and space-grant institution with Carnegie Community Engagement classification, where her leadership roles included Program Coordinator for the nationally-ranked interior design program and Director over two research labs.
Lindsay Tan holds dual terminal degrees – a PhD in Forestry and an MFA in Interior Design. She is an EDAC-certified Evidence-Based Designer and an NCIDQ-qualified Interior Designer.
where is she now?
Family Roots Nursery and Garden Center
Founded in 2024 by Jake, Jake, and Lindsay, we are Opelika’s local, loyal hometown hub for plants and landscaping materials.
Education & training
PhD Forestry
Harnessing design as an intervention to improve food security and community resilience in the modern urban ecosystem | Auburn University, 2024
Prescribed burn Manager
Regulatory compliance certification for planning and managing prescribed burns on the landscape | Alabama Forestry Commission, 2019
SLP CERTIFIED
Licensing exam for horticulture professional services and setting of landscape plants | Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, 2024
MFA Interior Design
Exploring the hidden symbolism and secret influence of the contemporary interiors where we spend 93% of our lives | Florida State University, 2008
EDAC certified
Evidence-based design certificate for conducting research in and evaluating data-driven design decisions for health | Center for Health Design, 2012
LEED-GCP Green Classroom Professional
Certification for applying evidence-based sustainable practices in learning environments | United States Green Building Council, 2016
BS Interior Design
Analyzing the historically-embedded meaning of space within and between classical civilizations of Europe and Asia | Florida State University, 2005
NCIDQ certified
Licensing exam for regulated interior design professional practice| Council for Interior Design Qualification, 2012
Philosophy Minor
Refining and evaluating logic models for theory development and practical argumentation |Florida State University, 2005
Honors
Most Innovative Educator
Top Hat, 2022
W. Allen and Martha Reimer Reed Professor
Auburn University, 2018-2023
Community Engaged Faculty
Auburn University, 2022
NCIDQ Ambassador
Council for Interior Design Qualification, 2016-2018
SGA Outstanding Faculty Member
Auburn University, 2015
Mary Jo Weale Award for Excellence
Florida State University, 2008
Best Space Planning - Hospitality Design
Florida State University, 2005
Favourite face of design
Commercial Interior Design, 2020
Auburn Author Awards
Auburn University, 2022
Outstanding Incorporation of Diversity & Inclusion
Auburn University, 2016
Academy of Reviewers
Interior Design Educators Council, 2013-2018
Most Visually Engaging Poster
Biggio Center, Auburn University, 2015
Mary Jo Weale Award for Excellence
Florida State University, 2007
Best Elevator Interior - Hospitality Design
Florida State University, 2005
Most Admired Educator
DesignIntelligence, 2019
Advisory Board
Family and Consumer Sciences Alabama Chapter, 2020-2022
At-Large Board
Society for Human Ecology, 2015-2019
Star Award - Innovative Marketing Campaign
Indiana Society of Association Executives, 2011
Merit Award
Interior Design Educators Council, 2012
CAD Lab Goddess
Florida State University, 2005