As an educator of graphic design, it my passion and goal to provide an environment for students that allows for creative that informs artistic and personal growth, while fostering the development of effective problem solving and critical thinking skills. To me, the combination of creative and technical skill, along with the conceptual exploration capacity and insight to generate design solutions is the necessary foundation for great design.

My method to achieve this is to establish a safe and transparent creative environment and focus on developing strong research skills that will become the catalyst for original solutions from the very beginning. This process entails having students generate numerous sketches that will help them go beyond their initial ideas and take creative risks while developing a research-backed rationale for their designs. Along with this experiential component, students develop a deeper understanding of design theory and history through a combination of class lectures, readings and discussions, as well as student-initiated research. This parallel process is crucial for expanding their visual vocabulary and working knowledge of past and present methods and allows for concurrent experimentation with their own design process. Students in my classes also have the opportunity to obtain frequent and constructive class critiques which are peer-based. This constant feedback loop encourages students to further push their design iterations and make needed adjustments to their design process, while remaining open to feedback and contributing their own insights to help peers. Students appear to appreciate the clear guidelines, the focus on the conceptual and design process, as well as the multiple learning components built in my classes. Below are some excerpts from students enrolled in my courses:

Jeremy is a phenomenal teacher. He’s so organized and really lays all of his expectations out on the table from day 1. There’s no surprises. He also has a great way of planning his semester with reading material and exercises that work together. We are constantly talking about our work and the industry. I’ve learned so much from him and would recommend everyone to take his classes!”

Jeremy is an incredible professor and person. I was really afraid to start web design because I’d never tried anything like it. Coding was really daunting, but Jeremy made everything really straightforward and made sure we were all up to speed before assigning our major projects. He was always encouraging and would be sure to tell everyone when they were doing especially good work. I feel like I really improved my skills as a designer and am going to take Advanced Interaction Design with him next semester.”

Talented. Brilliant. Incredible. Amazing. Show stopping. Spectacular. Never the same. Totally unique. A professor who is actually a really good mentor and teacher as well as a designer.”

Beyond the creative process, it is important for students to gain awareness of the business and human aspect of graphic design and the importance of creating authentic, meaningful, and ­long-lasting connections with clients and relevant stakeholders. In order to expose students to current practices and other professional perspectives, guest speakers are frequently invited to share their experiences and interact with students. Guest speakers are directed to present samples of their work, discuss their philosophy and approach to design, and share their perspectives and best practices for working within a collaborative environment. Students are also given the opportunity to personally engage through a Q&A discussion that follows guest presentations. While all students are exposed to these guest presentations, intermediate and advanced students are also given projects that mimic a professional working environment, with an emphasis on meeting deadlines and production schedules, as well as comprehensive client conceptualization. Projects at this level are comprehensive and focused on building a multi-level brand strategy (logo, color, typography, and design elements) in addition to a multimedia digital presence (websites, apps, and animations). My professional design experience of nearly two decades is a frequent source of anecdotes, challenges, and successes I share with students to help them better envision a fast-moving design environment and their future roles.

It is my strong belief that connecting design to the human aspect elevates design beyond a strictly business-oriented model. For this reason, students are encouraged to become involved in social campaigns that create personal fulfillment and connect them to the human impact of design, essentially becoming citizen designers. As an example, a regular student project built into my GD6 course is a social-based interactive infographic, where students select important social issues that would benefit from increased public awareness. Using their design research skills, emotional connection to the topic, and an iterative process of presentations and critiques, students design an interactive website that communicates critical information and includes specifies actions that make a difference. Recent projects have focused on the topics of sexual harassment, abuse, income inequality, and food insecurity, and steered the viewer towards signing petitions, providing donations, or joining specific action-oriented groups to increase awareness.

I also believe that moving the educational experience outside the classroom can directly involve students in real-world experiences that place them at the center of a dynamic interplay between human, emotional, and social factors. These immersive experiences challenge students to develop the ability to communicate and collaborate with a diverse array of individuals holding multiple perspectives, many of which may be divergent from those of the designer, while holding a firm grasp of the various design methodologies and frameworks that can be called upon to co-design an appropriate solution. A recent example of incorporating an immersive design experience in the graphic design curriculum was a collaborative Spring Break workshop, titled Project Perry/Proyecto Perry. This project was a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and team-based graphic design partnership I initiated between the two largest state institutions, and the community of Perry, IA. During this time, students and faculty fully immersed themselves in the community for five days and engaged residents and community leaders on a variety of challenges that were essential to Perry’s vitality, including, but not limited to, economic development, education, community engagement, and cultural inclusiveness. During this immersive experience, students created a total of twelve community projects presented in a final exhibition and thank you party to celebrate the community of Perry. The overwhelming positive feedback from the community as well as the students helped illustrate the benefits of participating in immersive learning experiences that can have real implications and potential to affect change. Below is a student excerpt from the experience:

At the end of the trip I felt very proud of what we had accomplished. We experienced some short falls during the week but we were able to create an event in 36 hours that positively affected the youth of the community. I would recommend this trip to anyone. I learned valuable skills like time management, triaging tasks, problem solving, and communication skills. Most importantly, I learned about what social design was and how to implement my design skills into a community. This was a truly rewarding experience that I will remember for years to come. I hope other students are lucky enough to share the same experience through the continuation of this project.”

Watching students in my classes create quality projects based on expanded design and conceptual skills, and seeing them continue their journey towards personal growth and social awareness is an inspiring process that allows me to sustain my passion in teaching design, and informs my own work as a citizen designer.

One of my primary responsibilities as a Graphic Design Professor is to actively contribute my skills, expertise, and effort towards the advancement of my program and field, as well as benefit my academic and local community. As reflected in both my teaching and scholarship, I believe that socially-driven design can have a significant human impact, and drives my service endeavors as a citizen designer.

In terms of my program, I have recently spent one academic year as Program Head of Graphic Design, where I worked with faculty, program staff, and students to build on the strengths of the Graphic Design program as well as identify strategic opportunities to incorporate emerging practices and technologies. Beyond creating the course schedule for the program, I also place high importance on ensuring instructional quality, and have worked closely with Teaching Assistants to oversee and support their teaching duties. Coordination with other Program Heads within the Studio Art Division, technology and print production staff, the Curriculum Committee, and Academic Advisors is a central component in delivering a high-quality program that ensures student satisfaction and success.

In terms of my immediate academic community, I have been dedicated in bringing my expertise as a designer to advance projects that benefit the School of Art and Art History. For example, I have worked closely with the Director and Administrative Staff to design a streamlined syllabus template that could be used by each division to organize and present key information in a standardized and easily-digestible format. Furthermore, I am currently designing a series of brochures for each academic program within the School of Art and Art History to highlight the diverse and vibrant programs of our school and facilitate recruitment efforts.

These past few years, I have also directly engaged in service that benefits my students and larger university community. Through my role as faculty advisor for the University of Iowa Students in Design (UISD) organization, I was instrumental in partnering students with various community and university members to collaborate on a variety of design projects. One recent example of such a collaboration involved leveraging connections with the International Writing Program (IWP) and UISD and leading the students through the opportunity to design and develop a web presence for the IWP’s 50th anniversary. This website was promoted internationally as a retrospective to illustrate the program’s accomplishments and provides a home for future expansion. Not only do such collaborations foster real-world experience, they provide a positive service to the university, and generate small funds the students can use for their own professional development, such as attending networking and workshop opportunities. Another fund-raising project that I initiated with the organization was having students partake in a poster competition, instilling the practice of disseminating their designs nationally.

In terms of both the university and local community, I have been instrumental in leveraging the design talent of our students by providing connections and artistic direction on projects that benefit local causes. For example, I have partnered several upper level graphic design courses and with the Provost’s Office of Outreach and Engagement to provide design services to community causes. As a result, I recently directed the student design of a tourism mobile app for Mason City, which guides the user to the various attractions, restaurants, and businesses within that community. As the goal of the city was to enhance economic growth, the app included extensive testing and prototyping, which assisted the Department of Computer Science to bring it to fruition. Similarly, in the Spring of 2020, we partnered with the city of Keokuk to design a new brand initiative for the city and its affiliated organizations, including tourism, commerce, and economic development.

It is also important for me to note that much of my research and teaching efforts focus heavily on service components, allowing me the opportunity to direct my professional activities towards positive service outcomes. For example, in the Spring of 2018, as part of a Spring Break Workshop, I co-lead a group of graphic design students in a collaborative partnership between the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, and the community of Perry, IA. This project was funded by a Community Impact Grant, and focused on utilizing graphic design resources, methods, and processes to engage the community of Perry, IA. Several design students from both universities worked together to identify areas for improvement and problem solve around specific economic, educational, health, and cultural challenges that are important to the community. The project culminated in an art exhibition that brought community members and leaders together with students to present the final collaborative solutions.

Another community project with a service-component, funded by the Roy J Carver Charitable trust, involved the utilization of Photovoice to illuminate Latinx students’ experiences in Muscatine High School. Using a combination of photographs, narrative, and perspectives provided by the students, this project involved a community forum and art show to raise awareness about the students’ experiences, while promoting positive change in the school community. This project was in collaboration with faculty from the College of Education, and is a good example of how design can be a crucial component of interdisciplinary service efforts.

My research endeavors and visibility in the graphic design field have also led to opportunities to be of service professionally. Recently, I served as an external reviewer for the AIGA Design Educator Community’s publication, Dialectic. I was also recently invited to serve as Co-Chair for a series of presentations on the topic of Design for Emotion and Pleasure, hosted by the Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International Conference. I look forward to additional service opportunities in my field that help advance the role of graphic design in socially-driven endeavors.

My passion for engagement and socially-driven initiatives has allowed me to build bridges between the Graphic Design program at the University of Iowa, other programs and units at UI, other Institutions that teach graphic design, as well as numerous local communities in need of service. I am looking forward to continuing my service contributions, and identifying impactful ways to elevate graphic design towards the greater good.