UW-Stout Department of Art and Design

BA emphasis Graphic Design from the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls IA.
MFA in Graphic Design from Iowa State University, Ames IA.

By the end of a semester, I always hope that by my students have had the chance to experiment with design principles, personal style, various media. Ultimately what I hope students begin to create and develop is a collaborative classroom. These general goals reflect the kind of experiences in design education that can be the most valuable. There is much to deal with to convey not only the tools of the trade to the students, but also how their own style fits into the practice of graphic design.

At the same time, this experimentation requires reflection. Another focus in my teaching is creating and recording processes throughout a project. The goal of keeping track of process is to keep the student aware of possible design solutions, and to show where and how ideas particular ideas develop.

Design and Research

My primary research and interests in graphic design are in information design. Particularly dealing with different approaches to handling information created by folksonomies (folk-taxonomies). Folksonomies create dynamic and occasionally random organizations due to the contributions of many individuals. My efforts have been focused on creating graphic systems for such websites using standard techniques as well as using newer web technologies to create more interactive experiences.