As scholars and practitioners in design education, we must critically examine the role of our institutions—often situated within communities marked by profound need, collective trauma, and entrenched systems of oppression. Liberal arts institutions offering design programs find themselves at a critical juncture, where escalating industry demands and the scarcity of traditional graphic design roles have become an inescapable reality.

Driving the Teaching
Practice

As scholars and practitioners in design education, we must critically examine the role of our institutions—often situated within communities marked by profound need, collective trauma, and entrenched systems of oppression. Liberal arts institutions offering design programs find themselves at a critical juncture, where escalating industry demands and the scarcity of traditional graphic design roles have become an inescapable reality. This context compels us to interrogate the homogeneity of our own backgrounds and formative experiences as educators and students, and to ask: how do we disrupt these patterns, and to whom—and for what—are we ultimately responsible? Redefining and transforming our discipline is not only permissible but essential. The true work of design education must happen in authentic partnership with the community, fostering relationships that transcend mere technical proficiency or job-centric ideologies. When educators lead with vulnerability, transparency, and self-awareness, and when students engage with presence, empathy, and openness, both groups are equipped to confront the broader social responsibilities embedded in our context. In doing so, they conceptualize and implement innovative models for societal transformation, forging connections with communities in ways that elude even the most established institutional organizations. Through this approach, design education becomes a model for advancing equity, justice, & systemic change.

How do we do this?

Articulating the Teaching
Pedagogy

In his monumental book, Designing Social Systems in a Changing World, Bela Banathy eloquently opens by citing numerous pages dedicated to the idyllic definition of Design. With each depiction postulated by contemporary power brokers, those who assume and consider themselves the authority of all knowledge regarding “Design,” Banathy’s aim becomes relatively simple: it is not easy to define Design. Nor is there one true definition accepted into our social fabric. Design, in essence, is complicated and elusive, as it exists in all things. Moreover, as Banathy and others expose, the interpretation of Design is far beyond products, solutions, opportunities and problems, process and practice. Such insights pose new questions for those of us in design education teaching graphic and visual communication design. 

What then do I teach?

Of course, we have teaching standards that come from professional associations and accrediting bodies, needs, and demands within the business and marketplace of Design, and now due to its elusive nature, Design in almost every divergent discipline offered in higher education are guideposts to help us. However, I believe that teaching Design is something so much more complicated than various steps and phases. Nevertheless, this complication poses new unknown opportunities and ways of “Being and Doing” that bring us closer to recognizing what it means to be human. The following account is my ever-evolving critical design pedagogy; it stands as an articulation harnessing the intrinsic drive behind the why, what, and how I teach and define Design.

  • Critical Awareness

    My critical research lens naturally informs my teaching practice. As someone interested in the power of systems and how oppression forms, I teach from a place that brings students into a deep awareness of themselves and how they stand concerning the world in front of them. Much of this philosophy comes from the written influence of Paulo Friere, Bell Hooks, and Ira Shor. In my teaching through a critical design pedagogy, I aim to provide students the power to express and operate as agents of good and change. When students become critically aware, they begin to understand at the root level where they can operate as designers and where substance exists in tandem with global needs. Teaching this way forms a deep insight into the student and their worldview and demands more of them; this is design responsibility. 

    As a fundamental posture to design responsibility, teaching a way of “Being and Doing” through a critical approach gives students new thinking and empathetic understanding. To do this well, I engage the studio as a multileveled experience, teaching for all conditions of learning styles (Auditory, Visual/Spatial, Verbal, Logical, Physical, Social, and Solitary). Through these styles, I practice “teach to the student,” which places each student uniquely upon their own learning path, which easily connects to a mentorship approach. As I walk alongside my students, I push them to far-reach goals they never imagined. All design projects, no matter the course level and or content, are world-facing, people-facing, and are rooted in complexities that will prepare the designer for future success. 

    Positionality

    But success in teaching design lives not only in great design solutions shown in projects and case studies but also comes from a deep understanding of who and what we are. Positionality helps us recognize where we come from; our associations, upbringing, narrative, and view of Truth and Belief form an identity in how we connect and operate within the world as designers. Accordingly, I use intentionally designed tools in all design studios to help students remain aware of their evolving positionality and identity. This practice helps students see beyond the project, connect with the Why behind the work, and champion their motivations. As students advance, their Why innately becomes nuanced and pronounced, giving them mature articulation for how they distinguish themselves among the vastness of others biting at the bit. 

    Teaching our Why inside various design projects promotes centering and awareness of self; as we look for future design leaders, this is crucial. Our students will one day lead and facilitate in various outlets; to motivate a future designed for radical change, they need to have the opportunity to embrace the path they have first walked. I teach from this framework in all levels of graphic design learning and show that our positionality is constantly evolving and becoming; without such awareness, how can we design for the world at large?

    Safe Space Authority and Agency

    I teach Design in a studio context that shares a safe space for learning through Being and Doing. Each group of students works together to create class norms, rules, and expectations along with the various prompts I bring to the table. We co-create a mandate for how we plan to learn and grow together. To develop a safe space means trust must be earned and received from both parties. I give students various opportunities to meet with me in groups and one-on-one to discuss personal progress and goals to consider. These meetings form feedback mechanisms to improve the unique learning process. I believe the studio should become a sacred place where students know they have authority and agency to learn as individuals with voices and ownership. I foster this way of being by breaking down the barriers that lead to fear of failure; this often directs students to ask more extensive and more intriguing–exploratory questions. We take appropriate risks that deepen the learning quality and establish grounded personal accountability in this posture; this leads to student growth and maturity. 

    Emancipation and Empowerment

    If established correctly, students utilize their agency and authority in learning Design as a way to empower not just themselves but others. When students have ownership of their learning, they free themselves from bonds chained by years of oppressive learning practices and social narratives often plagued with lies. This real emancipation changes the view of the student. 

    I teach collaborative and co-creative skills that embrace Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking approaches in my design courses. Learning these skills alongside various design content helps students find freedom in the process. In addition, I connect students to community-wide needs and partners worthy of collaboration. These soft skills help our design students learn facilitation and leadership abilities and instill a deep sense of pride and responsibility. As students engage outside of the classroom, they empower others to learn and experience Design in ways that are often unavailable. Lastly, much of my student’s informed learning is by methodologies that focus on circular design practices, reversal design, and emancipatory design practices. 

    Doing Good

    Today’s design students hold great power, equipped with creative skills and researchable knowledge. Nevertheless, when we teach holistically and mentor the students to recognize that their abilities and talents have a place in doing good, it opens a discourse about ethical and moral value settings. The complexity of the world demands designers to become more just and honest. I help students understand these modes of intention by learning how to design for equality and humanity. Much of the focus on projects in my studios is central to issues about systemic social concerns. We tackle challenging problems that are multilayered, dense, and often ambiguous. I lead students through avenues where we utilize Design for healing and reconciliation and connect to individuals frequently uninvited and forgotten within the design equation.

    Never before has there been such a need to see designers operate at levels that meet vast degrees of needs and demands. Designers for tomorrow must be able to see Design as a mechanism for global good. We must address issues concerning race, environment, education, health and well-being, and politics as these social systems make up our human way of life, both good and bad. As a design educator, my primary purpose is to mentor tomorrow’s designers who are able and willing to conceive designed outcomes that can lead us into global healing. 

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    Teaching design is a finessed balance between focused skill and human inquiry. It takes relationship building, trust forming, and deep listening. It also demands a clear picture of where things are heading. It requires patience and calm, and constant learning. It begs for details and insights and exposes ways of seeing that challenge the status quo. It takes opening the head, revealing the heart, and employing the hands to co-create alongside a world of extraordinary minds. 

A group of people, mostly women, standing together indoors in front of a wall with a whiteboard and some framed pictures. They are smiling and appear happy, wearing glasses and casual or semi-casual clothing, with some wearing hats or caps. The photo is in black and white.
Black and white photo of a smiling young woman, a man in graduation cap and gown, and another young woman, all holding diplomas, outside a building.
Black and white photo of a smiling young woman, a man in graduation cap and gown, and another young woman, all holding diplomas, outside a building.
A person wearing glasses and a hat standing behind a podium delivering a speech or presentation in a room with a large screen displaying text.
A person wearing glasses and a hat standing behind a podium delivering a speech or presentation in a room with a large screen displaying text.

Teaching to learn
Teaching to break rules

The following compilation of guiding principles emerges from over two decades of dedicated professional practice and teaching experience. Initially articulated in the midst of passionate moments of instruction and creative design, these aphorisms and maxims have been echoed back to me by students and clients as enduring wisdom—often with greater precision than I can recall myself. These principles arise at those pivotal junctures when learners seek something profound to anchor themselves in the transformative journey of education. Frequently accompanied by stories, metaphors, and a rich tapestry of ideas, these tenets illuminate the complex theories, challenges, and frameworks that comprise the inherently subjective nature of our discipline. Simultaneously, they invite contradiction and foster personal agency, encouraging each learner to take ownership and shape their educational experience. Each principle, while valuable, is meant to be questioned and, when appropriate, transcended—provided that its underlying rationale is first understood. Ultimately, it is this spirit of critical inquiry and courageous exploration that ignites a lasting love for teaching and learning; these rules help this happen.

These rules are added upon when needed, changed when demanded, and often come about when there is a need for that extra thing to say: check back often should you find these helpful.

  • Rule No. 4
    Aways act like you know what you are doing.

    Rule No. 34
    Put people first; over money, over profit, over ego.

    Rule No. 16
    Presence is everything, it changes reality and perception; the more present you are, the more of a gift it becomes to everyone.

    Rule No. 1
    Replace equipment where it belongs.

    Rule No. 29
    Kill your ego, daily.

    Rule No. 17
    Clean out the pencil sharpener, often.

    Rule No. 14
    Never design for free, always value your work, even if it’s for a good cause.

    Rule No. 42
    Always give your work away, especially if it’s for a good cause.

    Rule No. 48
    No matter the context, always use a contract.

    Rule No. 91
    Keep four books on the front seat of your car; read them when your meetings are running late.

    Rule No. 13
    Never back down to individuals who flex power and control.

    Rule No. 19
    Thinking is Dead.

    Rule No. 3
    Leave the place as clean as you found it.

    Rule No. 31
    Always use your privilege to empower others and to push inappropriate power out of the way.

    Rule No. 27
    Carry one book in your hand always, especially when you walk across an academic campus.

    Rule No. 40
    Ties are optional, but look great when least expected; don’t just follow the expectation.

    Rule No. 78
    Use pencils whenever possible.

    Rule No. 28
    Get away from the computer, it kills creativity and is the furthest thing from an effective maker of solutions for design.

    Rule No. 84
    Always offer a drink to your clients in a client meeting, even if it’s on their home turf.

    Rule No. 97
    Send hand-written thank you notes whenever possible.

    Rule No. 77
    Install pencil sharpeners in your work space (the old kind).

    Rule No. 92
    Turn off the overhead lights when finished.

    Rule No. 6
    Call the printer first to get a good cost idea, take donuts when preforming a press check.

    Rule No. 30
    Design to kill white supremacy in everything you make.

    Rule No. 64
    Include type licenses in your overall consumable costs for the client.

    Rule No. 79
    Design backwards thinking of the end first. This may help our landfills.

    Rule No. 18
    Blow shit up especially when evil prevails.

    Rule No. 2
    Push in your chairs before you vacate the studio.

    Rule No. 41
    Only use sharp “brand-new” exact-o blades on fresh cuts.

    Rule No. 63
    Do not create design that causes harm or makes you feel bad, it’s not worth it.

    Rule No. 36
    Competitions kill the soul, do at least one so you know what it feels like.

    Rule No. 88
    Design like you care, like it matters, like the world is in your hands.

    Rule No. 59
    When it gets tough remind yourself you are in the right place.

    Rule No. 67
    Design in such a way you learn your clients’ client’s first names.

    Rule No. 54
    Learn real design histories that have so easily been misplaced; we need to know the narrative of indigenous and other marginalized communities.

    Rule No. 65
    Stop reading from only white men who talk about other white men.

    Rule No. 46
    Make the influence of your human-centered relationships drive your ideas; then you won’t have the issue of your ideas feeling like wind.

    Rule No. 7
    Never design alone.

    Rule No. 66
    Listen more, talk less.

    Rule No. 58
    Give people the benefit of the doubt, even when it makes no sense at all. It will help your projects.

    Rule No. 33
    Do not steal typefaces. Hell, do not steal.

    Rule No. 87
    Always spell check, once in-a-while.

    Rule No. 56
    Don’t compare yourself to others, even though you will, it’s a bullshit and unrealistic way to measure poor success. If you need a measurement, make a yelp page.

    Rule No. 62
    Your job does not make/define/control who you are.

    Rule No. 61
    You can design in any situation.

    Rule No. 49
    Don’t wear all black and try to look like a designer, it’s too obvious.

    Rule No. 86
    Remember as a grade schooler that fire you had in your belly; the one who would always die on the hill for justice? Make friends with them again and get them back here.

    Rule No. 99
    Decolonizing design means we have to do the right kind of work. Humble yourself, we never had it right in the first place.

    Rule No. 45
    Stop designing for your needs and wants only, amazon is too big for all of us.

    Rule No. 57
    Do not use tokenized imagery.

    Rule No. 94
    Do not let your clients use tokenized imagery.

    Rule No. 23
    Do not say, “we need black representation,” when you are a white person with zero black relationships.

    Rule No. 55
    Do not use BIPOC in your writing if you don’t understand what BIPOC means.

    Rule No. 89
    It’s ok to discuss ethics in the interview; watch what happens. Make educated choices afterwards.

    Rule No. 70
    Place brand-new pencils in the table jars prior to all client meetings, sharpen beforehand.

    Rule No. 75
    Always cary a stapler and a small box of staples.

    Rule No. 98
    Share your design library; access over ownership is the right way to go.

    Rule No. 32
    Empower your clients to become agents of change and impact.

    Rule No. 37
    Teach design to the world. Make it free. Give it away.

    Rule No. 50
    Support good work.

    Rule No. 22
    Use a baseline grid for your resume.

    Rule No. 44
    No-one knows the truth of what they are doing; don’t let confidence confuse you. You most likely know more than the other person, they just wear it better than you.

    Rule No. 25
    To experience freedom means to design in a way that tears down systems of oppression, flips, and dismantles exploited power. Yeah, do that.

    Rule No. 24
    Smile.

    Rule No. 68
    Always have a play mix for the studio; play music you don’t know and understand. Get recommendations from others outside your normal culture.

    Rule No. 73
    At every meeting ask, “who isn’t here, who should be here, why am I here, why are you here,” and if needed, go get the appropriate people to join right away. Don’t wait, it causes more harm.

    Rule No. 76
    Take the right time to learn your positionallity, your narrative dictates how you see the world and thus how you will design for it.

    Rule No. 51
    Quit believing that there are right and wrong ways to design.

    Rule No. 90
    For every good one, there is one more better out there.

    Rule No. 38
    When you critique, ask what the person needs, then over deliver.

    Rule No. 35
    Promise more and deliver the extraordinary, your clients won’t know what to do.

    Rule No. 12
    Question Everything.

    Rule No. 93
    Walk away from fads. How boring.

    Rule No. 96
    Kill your social media; you don’t want to hear this, it’s rotting your brain, but you already know this, don’t you?

    Rule No. 21
    Travel, experience, and feel the world. Do not stay in one place. Your designs will thank you.

    Rule No. 39
    It’s ok to love the Bauhaus, I do, but it’s ok to let it go also.

    Rule No. 74
    Design conferences are meat markets for ego, if you go, take a friend and go for the free drinks then get out of there.

    Rule No. 72
    Your experiences are going to change you and your work. The only constant we have is the desire to do something. So, always do something.

    Rule No. 82
    Find real mentorship.

    Rule No. 69
    When you think you’ve realized how it all works and you have the answer, QUIT, hang it up and go open an icecream stand. You’ll thank yourself for it.

    Rule No. 9
    You are meant to live multiple lives far reaching and beyond the robotics of the grind.

    Rule No. 53
    Advertising just sucks. Seriously, stay the hell away; unless you are cool for pain, some people like pain and that’s ok.

    Rule No. 60
    Use lo-fi tools, post-its, dry erase, scribbles on paper, pins, etc; better yet make your own (like Mau).

    Rule No. 47
    Be careful who you idolize.

    Rule No. 71
    Read everything.

    Rule No. 85
    Never design without reading all of the content, even the small print; thats where they get you every time.

    Rule No. 20
    Do not design for credit card campaigns.

    Rule No. 15
    Share your failures frequently, let others laugh with you. Feel that pain, battle scars baby.

    Rule No. 95
    Spelling errors are like the moment you crap yourself in public as an adult; you can’t believe it happened but there’s not much you can do about it either. Clean yourself up, and get on down the road. We’ve all done it.

    Rule No. 81
    Work with and hire people who are better than you. Hire people who are diverse in thinking, culture, background, and makeup. Hire people who push you and force you to be a better human.

    Rule No. 5
    They said everything is an experiment, it’s quite true, especially if you can blow it all up for good.

    Rule No. 10
    Good does not mean best or number one; it means ethically right, morally just, and pure for the soul. It does not harm and it does not take away. Understand this language so you can tell others.

    Rule No. 26
    Do not follow the path of the man who says they know it all. Follow the path that has always resided inside you even if it scares the hell out of you.

    Rule No. 11
    What to do with extra paper? Place your very expensive diploma in a big fancy frame and then go bury it in a place you can come back to when its time to mourn life’s realities.

    Rule No. 52
    Awards feel good for the moment and then the high drops like any good drug; stay away from them and you won’t have this issue.

    Rule No. 80
    Don’t use spray-fix, that stuff is terrible for the environment.

    Rule No. 83
    If you don’t know, go figure it out; always be figuring it out. Remember rule no 4, “to act like you know what you are doing,” actually means that you have to figure it out. Now you get it.

    Rule No. 43
    Don’t be afraid of what’s ahead of you; remember, many of us once knew a thing called Flash. Nothing is permanent, everything is fleeting, design is more inside you than out.

    Rule No. 8
    Think, make, do.

    Rule No. 100
    Design for peace. Design for love. Design for inclusion. Design for equity. Design for justice. Design for righteousness. Design for grace. Design for mercy. Design for all things, good.

Educational
Experiences

Group of students standing in front of the Bauhaus building, a modernist architectural structure with large windows, and the word 'BAUHAUS' vertically displayed on the facade.
A group of people standing inside a modern, architecturally unique building with high, white, curved rib-like walls and a high ceiling with skylights. The group is diverse and smiling, gathered on a dark mat near the entrance.

Teaching design is never one-size-fits-all. Whether I’m mentoring a single student or leading a packed studio, working with freshmen or seasoned professionals, I thrive in every setting—intimate or grand, formal or spontaneous. My classroom has been everywhere: from the hum of a large lecture hall to the quiet corner of a coffee shop, or the serendipitous conversations in hallways and outside office doors. True learning, I believe, transcends the walls of any institution. Over the last twenty years, I’ve guided minds at private universities, art and design colleges, R1 research institutions, and both secular and faith-based communities. I’ve witnessed forty-four graduations and countless academic ceremonies, each one a testament to the journey of more than 1,000 students I’ve had the privilege to teach.

Years of Teaching
Institutions of Higher Education
Academic Titles
Different Courses
Abroad and Special Trips
Student Led Organizations as Faculty Advisor
Lecture Halls and Studio Classrooms
Commencement Ceremonies
Sabbaticals
Funded Projects with Student Support
Portfolio Reviews
Lost Copies of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing
Students Taught

20
7
11
67
51
7
37
44
0
29
424
21
1000+

The Bookshelf, Library, and
Other Design Teaching Resources

The Book Shelf:
A continual growing list of some of the most influential, inspirational, and thoughtful books that have shaped my understanding of the world through both art and design. Highly recommended. 
+ Learn more Here

The Library:
5000 volume Design, Art, Philosophy, Culture, Anthropology, and others available to rent and borrow: Slowly being digitized.
+ Learn more Here

The Production Lab:
List of Resources regarding paper companies, service bureaus (print companies), downloadable professional resources and other tips and tricks.
+ Learn more Here (coming soon)

The Social Impact Review:
Design Thinking, Human Centered Design, and other great tool kits all combined and within easy use, reading resources. and other tools curated to help guide you along the path of designing for good.
+ Learn more Here (coming soon)

Studio, Job and Internship Database:
Database of best design oriented job post sites, studios, and highly recommended places to consider for future employment and internship opportunities.
+ Learn more Here

Beyond the Portfolio:
A massive resource for emerging designers who need to know more than just the basic skills to survive. BTP comes from 20 years of curated rich content, numerous professional insights, and great resources to get you thinking and to guide you into success beyond graduation.
+ Learn more Here (coming soon)