In the first class of my first year in art school, we were asked:”What do you want to do with your art degree after graduation?” My immediate answer: “Design book covers!”and, more quietly, “Sting’s next album cover” (hey, it was 1997). Fast forward a bunch of decades and degrees, book…

You’re likely unfamiliar with the spherical viral particles that are the Coronavirus even though, in the span of 18 months, its siblings and cousins have killed almost 3 million people world-wide. But the spikey-ball “beauty shot”, illustrated to bring COVID-19 to the public’s attention, has now become nearly ubiquitous.

What is beautiful? How do we learn to make beautiful things? While there is no one formula and our tastes and preferences are largely based on what surrounds us, there are some tried and tested ways to learn how to make beautiful things. One of these is to look at…

The following is my 7 minute acceptance speech for the Design Educator of the Year Award, presented by the Registered Graphic Designers (of Canada) at the Design Thinkers 2019 Conference. I have spent the last twenty years studying design. After three degrees, 16 plus years as a design professor, over…

At least five accreditation levels exist for design. A certificate is a non degree-granting program of study, lasting from a few months to a year. An associate degree is a two-year degree at a college or university, while a Bachelor’s Degree extends design study to four years and can result…

We’ve developed a series of questionnaires for new projects (often new clients) to help establish a foundation of understanding — of them, their business, venture, company, or project. Answers to these questions are meant to help us figure out what the client needs and expects from a finished design. Below…

but it’s still theft. — I’ve been a graphic designer for almost 20 years and, for the last 15, I’ve been a design teacher. While doing my first design degree, part of my classroom experience was to work—in competition with my classmates—on client projects. It was typical for all of us to pitch a completed…

I’ve spent the last 10 years asking myself if a doctoral degree is worth the effort. There was a brief period — when I finally got my parchment — that the soul-crushing doubt subsided. …

How do you create presentation slides that keep the audience captivated while helping you focus on the key points of your presentation? While tips on how to create better PowerPoint slides abound, they tend to repeat the same set of vague instructions: cut down your written content to one point…