I teach students to be active learners and engage the material and coursework as much as possible. I believe the classroom is a place for experimentation and critical thought, and I value a student’s ability to be curious and explore ideas through making, in addition to learning the skills and tools of the discipline.

Designers and Dancers Collaborate across Disciplines to create unique Motion Graphics and Contemporary Live Performances
Students partnered together across design and dance to interpret, respond to, and visualize the same piece of music, but through different media.
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A Speculative Future in Design Education Realized: What will our classrooms and curriculum look like post pandemic?
This work explores how design education has shifted dramatically during the global pandemic to reconsider classrooms structures and curriculum that are more equitable for a range of types of learners.
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Graphic Design as a Powerful Tool: Teaching Students how to Assess Social Impact in Design
As part of the RGD (The Association of Registered Graphic Designers) 2021 Design Educators Conference – Webinar Series, I presented research on teaching social impact assessment to undergraduate students in graphic design disciplines.
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Designing an Interactive Type Specimen Poster: Working from the Analog to the Digital
With the uncertainty of available resources for teaching and learning online this semester, we introduced a new assignment in the graphic design survey course that shifted focus from a large-format print poster to an interactive, time-based poster.
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Designing Mobile Applications that expand and add to Greenville’s sense of Place: How can mobile applications engage community?
In this project, we discussed concepts of UX (user-experience design) and UI (user-interface design). We worked through analog and digital prototyping phases to develop function and usability and tested multiple prototype iterations with users to confirm or negate assumptions about the designs.
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Design & Action: Students Create Campaigns about Social Justice, Diversity, Anti-racism, and Equity and Learn how to Measure the Societal Impacts of their Work
This project introduces students to graphic design as a tool for action and social impact. Students develop messaging campaigns that build awareness, educate and inform on overarching themes and topics with a shared intent to reach a broad audience and shift behaviors and attitudes among people.
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Typequads is a Student Project Focused on Typographic Exploration of 2D Composition & Motion
This project challenges students to work with typography and 2-dimensional space with special attention on positive and negative space relationships and letterform anatomy.
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A New Motion Design Project with Graphic Design Seniors at ECU
This semester, the graphic design seniors at ECU were introduced to graphic design principles in motion and storytelling. Students were challenged to consider the element of time in their work effectively to communicate a message or idea. We surveyed a lot of sample work on Vimeo from historical to contemporary examples. To view our Vimeo…
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Design Activism and Impact in the Classroom: Presenting at CAA 2019 with Design Incubation Panel in New York
Last month, I presented work at the College Art Association (CAA) 2019 Conference in New York with the Design Incubation panel. My presentation reviewed a methodology, based on my research and design practice, called the ‘blended perspective’, that merges rigorous social impact assessment (SIA) guidelines from the social sciences with a human-centered design approach to…
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Design for Good: Students Work with Shelby County Health Department to Raise Awareness around the Opioid Crisis
Students at the Memphis College of Art designed campaigns for Shelby County Health Department to build awareness around the opioid addiction crisis in our community and help shift attitudes and behaviors around the stigmas of this addiction. Three campaigns were designed with all the campaigns communicating the core message that opioid addiction can happen to…
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Considering user experience, usability, inclusion, and accessibility in digital experiences
As technology shifts the way we design experiences, mobile applications offer new ways of enhancing user experiences, while augmenting physical environments. Interested in investigating this, I have started to develop a mobile application called be balanced. I have established its framework and purpose, and am currently developing the user-interface, considering concepts of user experience, usability, inclusion,…
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Graphic Design Students work with Loeb Properties to Create Public Art Tour in Overton Square
Loeb Properties has invested in a variety of art installations in Overton Square and would like to highlight these works by creating a public art walking tour. They have approached MCA to work with a team of students to design a “stroll” that celebrates and connects these works together, engaging visitors and activating the outdoor…
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Portfolio review showcasing the B.F.A graphic design program at Memphis College of Art
In the fall of 2015, design faculty successfully introduced the new B.F.A. major in graphic design. The new program incorporates concepts of human-centered design, design process and implications, design research and strategy, UI/UX design, interactive media, motion, and web.
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The Intersections of Typography, part 2
The second annual exhibition of the Intersections of Typography opened at Memphis College of Art in January. Students across many disciplines showcased work that highlighted typography as art form in 2D, 3D, analog and digital formats. The exhibition ran until February 2016 in the Lower Gallery of Rust Hall. All photography by Natalie Schuh.
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Clothing, Food, Shelter: An exploration of identity, place, and change
Clothing Food Shelter is a collaborative design research project between departments at the New York City College of Technology of The City University of New York in Brooklyn and the Memphis College of Art in Memphis, Tennessee conducted in the spring semester of 2015. Eight students, four from each institution, acted as research assistants for…
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The Intersections of Typography
The Intersections of Typography is a multidisciplinary show at the intersections of communication, expression and form.
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A new frontier of Digital Publishing: A tutorial of Adobe InDesign features
This article will walk you through a series of video tutorials to show you how you can turn your print publication into an interactive e-book
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60 Years of Rock and Roll Exhibition Opens Wednesday, October 8
60 Years of Rock and Roll is a collaborative student exhibition featuring work that celebrates the 60th anniversary of Rock and Roll at The Levitt Shell.
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A Year in Review: Student Project Work in the Graphic Design Program at Memphis College of Art
Students at Memphis College of Art worked really hard to create some lovely graphic design work over the course of the 2013-2014 Academic Year. In celebration of this hard work, I am sharing some of the completed project work from the fall and spring semesters. To a wonderful year in review.
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Advertising Design and Sustainable Design Students Fight Gun Violence with Guerrilla Awareness Campaign
MCA’s Advertising Design and Sustainable Design collaborate to create an anti-gun violence campaign in Frayser community of Memphis
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A Review of Line Drawing at Memphis College of Art
A portfolio of the Drawing 1 course (FD 100) at Memphis College of Art
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Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Review
The book is loaded with great techniques for “seeing” and fun, simple exercises for learning how to draw.
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Visiting Faculty Position at Memphis College of Art
After 13 years of living and working in Atlanta, an amazing opportunity to teach at Memphis College of Art (MCA) will relocate me to Tennessee for the next academic year.
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Improving Fundamental Design Elements: Part II. Color
How to get started with color and apply it to your graphic design projects.
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