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Summary
Design strategist and educator with over 30 years of experience who brings his practical knowledge and theoretical interests to build empathy-driven teams. Enthusiastic, self-motivated, big-picture, and detail-driven design thinker who directs teams toward innovative, human-centered outcomes.
Businesses
• Creative/Art Direction
• Business Development
• Design/Brand Management
• Higher Education
Industries
• Higher Education
• Health & Beauty
• Food & Wine
• Global Business
Staff Positions
IBM, Austin, TX
Design Lead, Marketing Studio
June 2019–Present
Contributed to the creation of the Career Success section of the IBM Racial Equity in Design site: https://ibm.co/3k6J8Xn Worked on a multi-disciplinary team to establish tone, content, and design. Recruited Black designers to share their work on the Showcase page.
Co-presented portfolio development content as part of two career success workshops. Established the content and design of the presentation. Facilitated several breakout sessions with attendees to answer specific portfolio questions.
Part of the team that developed the curriculum for the newly established IBM Accelerate program. Developed the programs mission, description, goals and objectives. Consulted with each session developer on the strength of their content. Coached attendees through the weekly session exercises. Mentored attendees during and after program completion.
Leadership squad team member for the Austin Enterprise Design Thinking group. Worked with the squad to establish the mission of the group. Develop and facilitate EDT workshops.
Created new Team-building initiatives that include, 'Inspiration Monday' and the 'Austin Werkbund'. Both have established new professional and personal understanding among the team members. Inspiration Monday is an informal presentation allowing the team to look at new creative resources, as presented by one of their teammates. The Austin Werkbund is an informal lunch meeting where two designers present recent work along with how the work was created; it is both a level-setting and an educational opportunity. Recruit guest speakers on occasion.
Established monthly 1-on-1 meetings with all team members to allow them to discuss career goals, best practices, working conditions, etc. Assist teammates with career advancement through the sharing of resources and career advisement.
Interface with business partners to establish new working relationships for our design team; allocate different, or new, design resources for the business unit; establish clearer communication channels so that our work process becomes more efficient.
Meet weekly with other site-specific Team Leads and Design Manager to establish current courses of actions needed to continue to build out the reorganization of the Marketing Studio.
Lead onboarding process for new Team members as they address a huge learning curve at IBM. Coach them through brand adherence, asset management, and network set-up.
Leading talent search to address the ever-changing needs of the North American Team. Added 7 new designers to the Austin design team.
AIGA Austin
Education Director
July 2021–Present
Work with ATX board to establish educational programing.
Establish working relationships with local AIGA student groups.
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Savannah, GA
Professor, Graphic Design, Design Management (Graduate), Industrial Design (Graduate) June 2004-May 2019
Ability to teach complicated theory, design research techniques, ideation skills,
practical knowledge and complex concept mapping to students of all backgrounds.
Taught on-ground and on-line courses that include: design thinking, brand
development, typography, trademark and logo design, graphic design history,
design methods, and research methods for graphic design. Developed pedagogical
techniques, taken from professional practice, that introduce studio collaboration
with other college departments that included Design Management, Interactive
Design, Advertising Design, and Industrial Design.
Courses Taught:
Graduate
Research Methods in Graphic Design, Typographic Communications, Design
Methodologies, Type Studio I, Print Studio I, Curated Narrative for Dynamic Content, Graphic Design/Social Awareness, 3-D Graphic Studio, Visual Information Practice, User-centered Strategy & Process, Print Studio II, MA Final Project, MFA Thesis Research & Discovery, MFA Written Thesis, MFA Visual Thesis, Oversee Field and Teaching Internships, Oversaw the completion of 23 thesis endeavors to date.
Undergraduate
Typography I, Graphic Design Studio I, Typography II, Production Design, Package Design, Graphic Design Studio II, Portfolio Design. Oversee Field Internships.
Working with industry partners in the SCAD Collaborative Learning Center (CLC) that pairs advanced students with real-world working environments to deliver innovative design outcomes. Partners have included: BMW, The City of Savannah, Human Resources Dept, The Housing Authority of Savannah, IHG, and Healthy Savannah, (presently working with HP, fall 2016). These CLC experiences bring together students from across all disciplines, including but not limited to – Graphic Design, Design Management, Interactive Design, Advertising Design, Service Design, and Industrial Design. The students interact directly with our industry partners and engage in professional scenario’s as they seek to develop user-centered design opportunities.
Responsible for bringing the Type Directors Club annual exhibition to campus
Chaired departmental committee whose duty it was to bring visiting designers on campus. They included: Massimo Vignelli, Mateo Bologna, Ken Carbone, Will Staehle, Debbie Millman, Joe Duffy, Steff Geissbuhler, Ann Willoughby, premiered “Typeface – The Movie” introduced by Executive Director, Justine Nagan
Volunteered to work with the inter-departmental team on organizing and overseeing the daily programming for the Design Ethos conferences. Headed up student volunteer group both years. Entertained invited speakers and guests. Oct. 2010, April 2012
Prepared and accompanied top Graphic Design undergraduate students to ADC portfolio reviews. May 2008 thru 2012. Lead the call for departmental portfolio submissions, set-up and judging of students to attend.
Former faculty liaison for student AIGA chapter. Held position for 2 ½ years. Helped to facilitate group activities, oversaw design and production of monthly event poster, collaborated with Rockport Publishing to bring authors to campus to speak to the student group and attended every meeting during that time. Helped to increase group attendance by 200%.
Lead three Graphic Design off-campus trips to New York City. June 2010, 2011, 2012. Studios visited: Vignelli Associates, Carbone Smolan Agency, Sterling Brands, frog design, IDEO, Interbrand, Razorfish, McgarryBowen, Mucca Design, ESPN Consumer Products Division and Wallace/Church (partial list). Two attendees have obtained employment through their participation.
Active member of the graduate Graphic Design Curriculum Review Committee for both the MA and MFA programs. Contributed to the collaborative development of the newly unveiled graduate program.
Assumed leadership role during Undergraduate Development Workshop. May 2012
Graduate Coordinator
September 2011 – June 2015 (3 years 10 months)
Higher Education Graduate Program Development.
Active member of the graduate Graphic Design Curriculum Review Committee for both the MA and MFA programs. Contributed to the collaborative development of the newly unveiled graduate program.
Tasked with curriculum advise for graduate students on the Savannah campus.
Held "welcome..." sessions at the beginning of each quarter for incoming Graduate candidates.
Reviewed Graduate admission portfolios on a bi-weekly basis.
Collaborated with other graduate coordinators to organize and facilitate both 15 hour (MA) and 45 hour (MFA) reviews each quarter. Participated in the review process all quarters since coming to SCAD. Organized quarterly Graduate review workshops.
Former students and their current employment status: (partial list) Rhea Duckworth ’17, Designer, Deborah Adler LLC; Lisa Fischer ’16 Visual Designer, Google; Gloria Wu ‘12, Designer, Under Armour; Dan Ogren '13, Designer, IBM; Ramona Todoca ’11, Art Director, Droga5; Shawn Hileman ’07, Curator/Screenprinter, Masthead Studios; Erik Braun ’06, Art Director, McgarryBowen; Ariana Nicolay ’08, Sr. Designer, Google; Ya-Yun Huang ’05, Designer, Deborah Adler LLC; Greg Mihalko ’10, Partner, Partner & Partners; Qian Sun ’12, Designer, Pentagram; Matthew McInerney ’10, Designer, Pentagram; Kyle Read ’10, Designer, Abercrombie & Fitch; Carl Gerhards ’07, Sr. Designer, Sterling Brands; Kathleen Scudder ’10, Sr. Designer, Partner & Partners; Becca Skinner ’07, Design Director, USAA.
Gene Mayer Associates Milford, CT
Design Director Oct. 1999-Aug. 2000
Senior Designer/Art Director Jan. 1999-Oct. 1999
Concept development and design. Refinement of direction toward production. Art
direct photography/illustration. Oversaw and participated on projects from design development through print production. Participated in client presentations. On press supervision.
Clients: United Technologies, General Electric, and The Hartford Insurance Group.
Deskey Associates New York, NY 1989-1992
Designer
Clients: Procter & Gamble, Dannon, McNeil Labs, Black & Decker.
Frank Fatta Design Cos Cob, CT 1988-1989
Designer
Clients: General Foods, Kraft, The National Football League.
Charles Zunda Design Greenwich, CT 1986-1988
Jr. Designer
Clients: General Foods, Playtex, The Estee Corp.
Freelance Associations
Designer/Art Director
Aug. 1992-Present
Projects include strategic brand analysis, package design, structural concepts, in-store collateral, marketing communications, corporate communications, identity design, logotypes, calendar of events, collateral material and brochures for national distribution. On press supervision and responsible for color approval.
Clients: Evoca LLC, Aramis and Designer Fragrances. NY, NY, Estée Lauder/ Prescriptives NY, NY, Daniel Scharfman Design, NY, NY, Bevier Gallery & HEOP Office at R•I•T, King Casey, New Canaan, CT, Barnhart/Ziaman, NY, NY, Liz Claiborne, NY, NY, Ardel Records, John Frieda, Wilton, CT, Meyer & Assoc., NY, NY, Dakota Group, Wilton, CT.
Education
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY May 1995
Master of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. Minor in Computer Graphic Design.
Thesis: “The “New” New Typography. A Critical View of Typography”. Wrote and designed book on the state of typography in the digital realm and its historical precedents.
Received Outstanding Achievement Award as a graduate teaching assistant. Responsible for support in senior and sophomore Graphic Design studio courses.
Manhattanville College Purchase, NY May 1983
Graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Minors in Art History and Psychology.
Presentations/Workshops
“IBM Career Advancement Series” Co-presented portfolio development content as part of two career success workshops. Established the content and design of the presentation. Facilitated several breakout sessions with attendees to answer specific portfolio questions. Feb. & July 2021
“What is Design—2020?” Virtual meet-up with graduate students at SCAD. October 2020
“Differentiating yourself in a crowded field” Facilitated virtual portfolio workshop for Grand Valley State University students. November 2020
Guest curator for TX State year-end MFA show. Chose best in show, honorary mentions, and presented awards to all finalists. December 2019
Invited guest of the University of S. Dakota and S. Dakota State University. Presented to both design student bodies, held portfolio reviews and workshops, and in-class critiques. April 2019
“Making a Good First Impression – Cover letters, resumes & references” workshop given to both the AIGA-SCAD group and the Glyph graduate student group. April 2019
“Developing a Killer Portfolio”, given multiple times to AIGA-SCAD group as well
as to the ID/Furniture Design student group.
“Effective Self-Promotion”, presented to AIGA-SCAD. May 2011, March 2012
“The MFA is the NEW MBA – Literally”, presented at the UCDA Design Education
Summit: “The State of Design Education” May 2011
“Design Thinking and the Future of Design Pedagogy”, presented at the UCDA
Design Education Summit: “Designing Design” July 2010
“Design Thinking: The Future of Design?” Presented to the student design group
The Union. February 2010
“Think. Share. Educate.” Conceptual work presented during the faculty show. Fall 2009
“Interpretive Typographic Exploration”. Presented Type Studio I book project
showcasing past outcomes and theories connected to said outcomes.
SoTA TypeCon Conference. July 2009
“Preparing Your Portfolio & Resume for Real World Interviewing”. Collaborated with
Career Services to bring first-hand portfolio building and resume design knowledge
to interested participants. November 2008
“Everything is Design” Book that was designed for faculty show. Fall 2007
“The Grid in Graphic Design”. Georgia Southern University. April 2006
Invited guest of the Rochester chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts
to participate in a panel discussion entitled “The State of Typography Today.”
March 1995
Conferences Attended
(partial list)
AIGA GAIN “Design for Social Change” Oct. 2012
Design Thinking/Service Workshop June 2012
TEDx “Decoding the Future” May 2012
AIGA National Conference: “Pivot” Oct. 2011
UCDA Design Education Summit: “The State of Design Education” 2011
UCDA Design Education Summit: “Designing Design” 2010
AIGA National Conference: “Make/Think” Oct. 2009
SoTA TypeCon Conference: “Rhythm” July 2009
AIGA Design Education: “Future History3” March 2009
UCDA Design Conference: “Shift” Sept. 2008
AIGA Jacksonville: “Recharge” April 2008
AIGA National Conference: “Design” Sept. 2006
TypeCon 2006: “The Boston T Party” Aug. 2006
AIGA Design Education: “Revolutions” June 2005
AIGA Design Education: “Future History” Oct. 2004
Computer Skills
Extensive knowledge of Adobe CS5, Quark XPress, and the Macintosh operating system. Working knowledge of BBEdit, Dreamweaver and HTML.
Related Activities
Member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the Type Directors Club.
Served as a volunteer portfolio reviewer for the Jacksonville Chapter of the AIGA
2005–2009.