Graphic Design

Dr. Molly Briggs, with collaborators Dr. Wei (Windy) Zhao and Dr. Sharon Suiwen Zou, received a 2024-25 Transdisciplinary Global South Community-Based Learning Program Development Grant for their proposal, "Place Making and Rural Tourism in China."

Nekita Thomas, Eric Benson, Joshua Pridemore, Holly Strickland, Noelyn Stephens, and Yiqi Xiao recently had their article, "How to Explain Design Research To Your Friends" in the Design Research Society Digital Library published.

Brittany Bindrim (Graphic Design 2007 BFA) just dropped her debut album "Velella Velella." The album may be purchased here.

In a recent article in the U of I News Bureau, Art & Design faculty, Jena Marble, Eric Benson, and Juan Salamanca were featured for teaching their students about AI tools and how to use them in their design process.

Lisa Mercer recently published “Racism Untaught: Revealing and Unlearning Racialized Design,” that examines how racism is perpetuated through design and how to use anti-racist approaches to counter it. Read the article here.

Graphic Design Associate Professor, Eric Benson with collaborators, Professors Tina Sleiman and Dr. Fatme Al Anouti (Zayed Univ), received a $54,000 grant from Zayed University in the UAE for a project entitled "The Fresh Press-Enterprise: A Sustainable Action Project for Paper Production within the UAE using Locally Sourced Agricultural Waste."

Regather: A 10 Year Retrospective of Paper Art at Fresh Press Monday, October 16– Friday, December 8, 2023 Merwin Gallery, Illinois Wesleyan University, Ames School of Art and Design, 6 Ames Plaza West, Bloomington, IL (galleries closed for Fall Break 10/20 & for Thanksgiving recess 11/21-11/26) Aya Nakamura Steven Kostell Courtney Cross Karen J. Spiering Megan Diddie Quinn Ferris Eric Benson E. Ainsworth Veronica Pham Claire Reynes

2023 Ideas that Matter judges know good design—it’s what helped get them to where they are today. Now, this independent panel of accomplished design industry leaders is up for the difficult task of choosing this year’s winners based on potential effectiveness, plan for implementation and, of course, creativity. Read on to meet the panel and learn more about their achievements. Sappi is a global renewable resource company that uses every part of the tree to make every day more sustainable. Our high-quality packaging, speciality, and graphic papers, pulp and biomaterials are innovative solutions that move the world forward. See how sustainability is at the heart of everything we make.

Taekyeom Lee received a 2023 Design Incubation Communication Design Award in Scholarship: Creative Production with his entry, "Tangible Graphic Design." Lee is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his MFA in Graphic Design in 2014. More on the award here. Taekyeom Lee's website.

Dr. McDonagh and Coach Adam Bleakney were recently featured in Insight Into Diversity. Read the story here.

John Avila's firm recently joined The Change Agencies. Avila graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design in 1984. He has been professionally affiliated with the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and STA (Society of Typographic Arts) in the past and often juries the International ARC Awards in New York. With a passion for typography, John also designs and prints artwork on letterpress with antique wood fonts. He is an avid runner and is on the Board of Directors for Proud to Run and Frontrunners Chicago. The Change Agencies are the first and only national network of independently-owned public relations firms focused on inclusive and authentic communications to multicultural and LGBTQ communities. They help businesses and organizations identify, assess and address DEI communications challenges and opportunities. Read the article here.

Associate Professor of Graphic Design Eric Benson and UIUC 2021 MFA alumna E. Ainsley received a grant supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the University of Illinois. Their project titled "Papermaking Community Workshops: Storytelling, Transformation, and Therapy" will offer papermaking workshops focused on rebirth and transformation for the LGBTQ+ communities, W.I.N. recovery (Women in Need), and the general Champaign-Urbana community. More information will appear in 2023 on the Fresh Press website and their Instagram account.  

Graphic Design Associate Professor, Eric Benson, receives a 2022 GDUSA design award for his podcast Climify.

Professor McDonagh was recently quoted in the article "Fast Furniture Is Cheap. And Americans Are Throwing It in the Trash. The mass-produced furniture that sold furiously during the pandemic could soon be clogging landfills." by Debra Kamin. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/realestate/fast-furniture-clogged-landfills.html