ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY STUDENT WORK
Before taking my current position at the University of Idaho, I taught part-time at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco at the Pre-College, Undergraduate, and Graduate levels. From Fall 2011 to Spring 2016, I was an MFA thesis advisor at AAU, teaching both one-on-one and group classes. Over the course of twelve terms I advised over 80 graduate students.
I am proud to say that my students have produced award-winning projects, with recognition ranging from the Academy of Art University and AIGA San Francisco, to Reddot, Clean and Green Hackathon, The Dieline, Creative Quarterly, and Linotype. They have gone on to work at places like Google, Apple, Chronicle Books, Modcloth, Old Navy, and Gap Inc.
Here are a number of their MFA thesis projects. Contact links are provided to their portfolio sites and thesis materials.
Amal Alnaniah | RIPPLE | Campaign, Website, Event, Magazine, Collateral | spring 2016
RIPPLE is an organization that advocates for the value design has for small business owners, beginning with restaurants and bars. This project was featured in Creative Quarterly 45–46.
Andrea Novo | NEW ÉPOCA | Magazine, Website, Packaging, Campaign | spring 2016
NEW ÉPOCA is a non-profit that promotes Cuban tourism and trade through a cultural arts quarterly magazine, website, travel service, and products.
Raymond Monsada | DWINDLE | App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | spring 2016
DWINDLE is an application that helps college graduates manage their student debt efficiently and automatically.
Jayeeta Kundu | UPRIGHT | Children’s Books, App, Website, Collateral | spring 2016
UPRIGHT is a suite of children’s educational tools that can turn daily life situations into character building opportunities for parents.
Yusef Alahmad | ALL RIGHTS NOT RESERVED | BOOK | spring 2016
ALL RIGHTS NOT RESERVED is a book for Saudi designers that seeks to clarify intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia.
Alberto Carvajal | NIBBLEZ | App, Website, Product, Packaging, Campaign | fall 2015
NIBBLEZ is an application that is paired with custom plateware to help parents find the proper nutritional balance and serving size for their children’s meals.
Biayna Ohanyan | ARCHISTORIES | Exhibit, Website, Campaign, Collateral| fall 2015
ARCHISTORIES is a preservation organization that educates both donors and the public by curating architecture exhibits across the country.
Esmeralda Ruiz | DEACT | App, Website, Book Series, Packaging, Campaign | Fall 2015
DEACT is an application that offers aid to individuals with food allergies by finding dishes and restaurants that cater to their dietary needs.
Rehab Hassanin | SUPPLEMENTAL | App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Fall 2015
SUPPLEMENTAL is an application and website that helps those who take dietary supplements make better product choices and manage their daily intake.
Kening Zhang | pro-files | Campaign, Website, App, Collateral| Fall 2015
PRO-FILES is a campaign directed at college students, alerting them to the importance of privacy online and on social networks.
Cecilia Wen | HANDCRAFTY | Craft Kit, Website, Campaign, Collateral | spring 2015
HANDCRAFTY is a kit and series of games that encourages analog, imaginative art play for children.
Aum Iamsirikulmitr | BYE BUY | App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | spring 2015
BYE BUY is an app that tracks impulse spending, and helps users establish savings goals for more meaningful larger purchases such as travel.
Park Premvaranon | GRAFF-IT-UP | Exhibit, App, Website, Campaign, Products| spring 2015
GRAFF-IT-UP is an exhibit and app to educate young people about graffiti and findmore legal space for graffiti as a fine art practice.
Cherry Chang | WILD BLUE | Campaign, App,Website, Collateral | spring 2015
WILD BLUE is a campaign and app to discourage the display of marine mammalsin amusement parks, and to promote whale-watching tours instead.
Mia Liang | FOLD BY FOLD | Website, Campaign, Workshops, Collateral | spring 2015
FOLD BY FOLD offers workshops and classes, both onsite and online, to teach people how to reuse old clothing.
Peihua Lee | CRITICAL EYE | Exhibit, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Fall 2014
CRITICAL EYE is an exhibit exploring issues of privacy in the digital world.
Priti Kapadia | MOOD MAP | App, Website, Book Series, Campaign | Fall 2014
MOOD MAP is an application and website that allows pedestrians to select places to explore in their city based on their own mood, or the mood of a place.
CARRIE Cheung | PLAN BEE | App, Website, Packaging, Campaign | Fall 2014
PLAN BEE is an application and website that provides resources and tools to support new urban beekeepers. Users can also sign up for locally held classes.
Natasha Katz | PLUM | App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Fall 2014
PLUM is an application that helps consumers make sustainable choices at the places they already shop by curating location-based options for them.
Airui Fan | BRING BACK | Packaging, App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Fall 2014
BRING BACK is a reusable food packaging system for urban restaurants that offer takeout and delivery.
chelsea Liu | PATCH | App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Summer 2014
PATCH is an application and website that popularizes agriculture among young urban professionals in San Francisco, while it also empowers and supports local farming.
Sami Lukens | CARE AWARE | App, Website, Book, Campaign, Collateral | summer 2014
CARE AWARE is a platform for educating Californians about their healthcare options under the Affordable Care Act.
Sarah Fiske | VOCAL | Website, App, Campaign, Collateral | Summer 2014
VOCAL is a website and application that engages young voters and educates them on local ballot measures and candidates before heading to the polls.
Hanisha Amin | PARTI | App, Website, Campaign, Book Series, Collateral | Summer 2014
PARTI is an online community dedicated to reconnecting young Indian Americans with their culture through publications and social events.
Yuya Yoshida | SWEEPSPOT | App | Spring 2014
SWEEPSPOT is a social application for facilitating neighborhood cleanups, using a rewards system provided by sponsors.
Katie Tonkovich | BLAZE | App, Website, Wayfinding, Campaign, Collateral | Spring 2014
BLAZE is a social hiking application that provides crowd-sourced funding for the California State Parks system.
Flora Cruells Benzal | TYPORAMICS | Ceramics, Products, Catalog, Website | Fall 2013
TYPORAMICS showcases over forty ceramic artists (including the design student) who use typography in their work through a printed catalog, a website, and social media.
Nicole Johnson | RISING UP / TAKING NAMES | Magazine, Website, Campaign | FALL 2013
RISING UP / TAKING NAMES is a publication that encourages sports participation by American High School girls.
Ashley Ng | TIGHTLY KNIT | Children’s Book, Website, Card Game, Collateral | Fall 2013
TIGHTLY KNIT is an educational kit about Asian American history that includes lessons about events and people who have contributed towards making the American dream possible.
Jana Heyer | POSTER CHILD | App, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Fall 2013
POSTER CHILD is a monitoring application that allows parents to better track and manage the methods and frequency with which they post to social media about their children.
Alison Kim | MICROVERSE | Children’s Book, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Spring 2013
MICROVERSE is about germ education for parents and children. Tools include a children’s book and parents’ guide, website, and other collateral.
Morgan Marcani | HALF FULL | Packaging, Website, Campaign, Collateral | Spring 2013
HALF FULL is a gorilla, shame-based campaign that combats binge drinking and other problematic bar behavior among young people.
Knut Synstad | BEFØR | App, Website | Spring 2013
BEFØR is a social platform for Norwegian Americans to explore their heritage and gain a greater appreciation of their family history.
Manjia Zhao | AIRNERGY | App, Website, Campaign, Products | Spring 2013
AIRNERGY is a game application that tracks daily, real world energy consumption and motivates users through a virtual environment to reduce their usage.
Joana Cardoso | EFFORTLESS CITY | App, Website, Books, Campaign, Collateral | Fall 2012
EFFORTLESS CITY is a set of navigation tools for pedestrians with mobility considerations including an application, website, and a book series.
Alexander Miranda | MOI | Typeface, Website, Book, Collateral | Spring 2012
MOI is a project to protect the Native language Otomi, which is spoken in Mexico, by providing a typeface for the digital age, Otomi Sans.
Lauren Mulkey | PENCILS BEFORE PIXELS | Curriculum Materials, EVENT, Website| Fall 2011
PENCILS BEFORE PIXELS is an AIGA-sponsored workshop retreat that reconnects working design professionals with handcraft and other analog skills.