Courses / Institutions / Portfolio Reviews / Teaching Philosophy

Higher Education

COURSES

Design Fundamentals • Design Theory • Graphic Design (Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4) • Graphic Design History • Information Design • Senior Seminar Design Exhibition • Typography (Levels 1 and 2) • Web Design

INSTITUTIONS 

ArtCenter College of Design • California State University Long Beach • Loyola Marymount University • University California Los Angeles Extension • University of Southern California (Marshall School of Business and Roski School of Art and Design)

PORTFOLIO REVIEWS

AIGA Los Angeles • California State University Los Angeles • California State University Northridge • University of California Los Angeles Extension • University of Southern California • Woodbury University 

Teaching Philosophy

With every year, my pedagogical philosophy continues to evolve, like any engaged teacher. Yet, I often look back to Anne Burdick’s essay Design Without Designers, which seems to have more relevance with each year. The discipline of design is both opening up and breaking down—and design is becoming a loose(r) set of skills that are taught all over campus and incorporated in all areas of business. Our profession has been undergoing a radical shift, which accelerates due to technological advancements.

Burdick breaks design practice into six areas—Artifacts, Studio, Thinking, Methods, Making, and Tools. Traditionally, graphic design courses emphasize the final solutions, or artifacts, from a long, creative process. These messier processes—in Thinking, Making, and Methods—are more accurate to the work we do. Consequently, I emphasize the development of work, rather than the final outcome—much as Paul Rand recommended in Design and the Play Instinct. The long-term benefit is that students are prepared for an uncertain future. The short-term results are successful student work that is layered in meaning, using contrasting elements. 

Because design and the visual arts are a form of storytelling, students start to recognize the parallels with many other creative fields. I aim to show students that a variety of design processes and decisions are everywhere—including in music, fashion, cooking, and cinema—as those practitioners also weave their own type of story. I often assign readings from a range of publications or websites to demonstrate this point. The essays and discussions help launch them on their creative and professional journey.

I take teaching very seriously. I also incorporate a sense of humor, which I find critical to fully engage with students. Realistically, I compete with quick glances at their devices. Teaching is always part performance, and I attempt to win students over with enthusiasm – and by keeping them captivated. When I first started teaching, I decided to study improvisational comedy, where I was in the conservatory program at The Second City in Hollywood. My studies in that field lasted two years. Everything that I learned there—concerning public speaking, close listening, and improvising—has given me a readiness in the classroom that students seem to appreciate.