Teaching

Welcome! I am a design educator with an interest in helping students to bring their identity into design, how to be playful as a maker, and how to move fluidly between digital and analog techniques. I believe in two fundamental aspects of being a designer:

1) The Designer's Oath, “Do no harm” my students and I all say it together at the beginning of each school year

2) Know Your Super Power identify and embrace your pronounced skill as a designer.

I am a 3rd generation educator, and I look for opportunities to learn about my students' backgrounds and inspirations as aspiring creative professionals. I am especially fond of working first generation college students.

My interdisciplinary teaching comes from my polymath approach to making, playing, learning, and designing to improve and enjoy the world around us. I encourage a “criss-cross” approach to my students, my colleague Professor Sofie Hodara and I gave a presentation about it at the 2021 FATE Conference.

Learn more about The Criss-Cross method and how to apply it in the classroom here:

Projects & Student Work

DMI Thesis Books

PRINT | INTERACTIVE | DESIGN RESEARCH

Courses: Thesis Project 1 & 2

As Director of the Dynamic Media Institute, it's my great pleasure to work with graduate students from around the world on their thesis project work and book. Here is a selection of some of my outstanding students, Hessam Daraei Bafi from Iran, Leo Rossoni from the US, & Mayuri Saxena from India.

Image credits: Mayuri Saxena, Hessam Daraei, & Leo Rossoni

See The Books

Break a Leg Project

COURSE PROJECT | WORKSHOP | SPECULATIVE DESIGN

Course: Graphic Design Sophomore Studio

Envision what it is like to break a leg in three different time periods, research treatment 100 years ago and today, finally speculate 100 years into the future. Students design narratives to explain each of these eras, gain empathy for patients, and envision the future. Professor Jan Kubasiewicz and I designed this project for students visiting Boston from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Image credit: "Fracture X-Ray #1" by KooshKing is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Visualize Your Identity

COURSE PROJECT | IDENTITY | MOTION | PRINT

Courses: Graphic Design 1 & TIME

Students explore their identity by sharing their inspirations, skill interests, and aspirations to express who they are and build a personal brand. The project includes a 30 plus printed book about their personal story and a “Initial Logo” two color drop cap for printing at various sizes and expressed using motion as well. Working in their native language is encouraged, welcomed, and supported.

Image credit: Ben Walker

See The Work

Degree Project

COURSE PROJECT | BRANDING | PRINT | INTERACTIVE

Course: Communication Design Senior Degree Project

Projects in this course are entirely student selected and driven. It's my great privilege to help students realize their ambitious projects that cover all sorts of topics, cultures, content, forms, mediums, and communities. Students spend an entire semester researching, prototyping, and building their work for a public symposium showcasing their extraordinary efforts.

Image credit: course logos by Rye McGill

The Daily Frustration

COURSE PROJECT | PRINT | MOTION

Course: Graphic Design Sophomore Studio

This evergreen project features an ever evolving set of stories from students year-to-year, fueled by the ARGH and angst of everyday life. Students identify, articulate, and express a frustration they experience each day. The multi-form project incorporates essential skills of being a 21st century designer including: articulating and identifying problems, designing enticing layouts, writing with purpose, creating typefaces, designing motion aka motion-splaining, and more. The project was developed with Professor Lisa Rosowsky.

Image credit: Paramount Pictures, Jean Luc Picard Facepalm Meme

The Designer's Desk

COURSE PROJECT | DESIGN RESEARCH | MOTION

Course: Graphic Design Sophomore Studio

What does a designer's desk look like? Students design an ideal workspace for a aspiring communication design student that enhances their creativity, productivity, and wellness. This Human Centered Design embraces the mantra of, “Nothing for us without us,” as the students design a workspace that helps their classmates be at their best. This project was designed with Professors Sofie Hodara and Jeff Bartell.

Image credit: Massimo Vingelli drawing referenced from The Desk by Joey Salim

Daily Drawing Sketchbook

COURSE PROJECT | DESIGN RESEARCH | PROCESS

Courses: Sophomore Studio, Envisioning Stories, Time, Type 2

On the first day of my courses students create a daily sketchbook with every page pre-numbered for the entire semester. Each week we present our work based on specific prompts or themes (i.e. drop caps, favorite bands, nature, and more) using only one to two colors each day, the drawing books are shared every week among students.

The project is part of my personal process that I began on January 1st, 2012, I have not missed a single day, and I work on the project in parallel with the students.