Creativity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence 

2024

This project-based, undergraduate course invites students to explore existential and ethical questions at the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence. Students learn how to integrate text-to-image software, large language models, and other deep-learning software into a creative practice. Through studio and design projects, the course explores the far-reaching impact of these advanced technologies on art and design, focusing attention on topics ranging from the possibilities of democratizing artistic practice and exponentially expanding the speed and volume of human creative output, to concerns over copyright infringement, environmental impact, human versus machine creativity, and bias within datasets. Alongside hands-on creative projects, students read and discuss work by scholars such as Joanna Zylinska, Helen Armstrong, Michele Elam, and Ruha Benjamin that address the topic of contemporary versions of artificial intelligence from multiple perspectives.

Fundamentals of Visual Communication Design
2023–2024

This foundational undergraduate studio course introduces students to visual communication design as an important medium for visual knowledge production and communication. Emphasizing both historical and contemporary visual literacy, students engage in print, dimensional, and screen-based projects that explore the design process from problem discovery and concept creation to setting and solving visual challenges. Students solve design challenges that center on curation, observational rendering, vector abstraction, theories of gestalt, typographic meaning-making, layouts and hierarchies, symbol systems, and the poster as a form. Readings cover writing by Edward Tufte, Steven Heller, Rick Poyner, Victor Papanek, Milton Glaser, and Bryony Gomez-Palacio, among others. Through hands-on assignments, critiques, and theoretical discussions, students will develop essential skills and an understanding of design's role in shaping meaning and messages across diverse media.

Typography

2017–2024

This introductory undergraduate studio course focuses on the art and practice of typography, exploring how type can communicate, shape meanings, and evoke emotions. Students will learn the principles of type selection, hierarchy, spacing, and layout, developing an understanding of type anatomy and historical context. Through a series of progressively complex, hands-on studio assignments, students will create compositions for print and digital media, mastering techniques for effective communication and aesthetic expression using type. Select readings cover titles by Ellen Lupton, Jan Tschichold, and Robert Bringhurst.

Branding

2022

This studio-based course builds on the use of color, type, image, and design principles. As students establish consistent, identifiable, and meaningful brand identity systems across several projects, they also engage with anti-consumerist post-branding approaches championed by artists and designers such as Jason Grant, Oliver Vodeb, The Yes Men, Barbara Kruger, and Adbusters. Thus, in addition to practical applications of branding, students will use history and theory to critique branding in practice-based ways. Students learn the process and strategies used to benchmark, research, and ideate effective brand systems through assembled logo, type, color, illustration, imagery, and graphic elements while negotiating the ethically complex histories of branding in practice.

Production for the Graphic Designer

2019–2020

This advanced undergraduate studio course focuses on production processes essential to bringing design projects from concept to completion. Students gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and techniques, including pre-press preparation, color management, print technologies, and digital workflows. Emphasizing efficiency, precision, and quality control, this course bridges the gap between design creativity and practical execution. Projects and case studies will provide insight into production methods for various media, from print publications (e.g., sensory book experiences like die cuts and embossing by Irma Boom) to digital assets (e.g., 3D modeled wayfinding systems using Google Sketchup), enabling students to master the technical skills needed to ensure their designs are produced accurately and professionally in the real world.

Packaging Design
2025

An advanced undergraduate studio course exploring the creative and practical aspects of packaging design, design research, and dimensional problem solving. The course emphasizes how packaging shapes consumer perception and enhances brand identity. Students will learn to design packaging that balances aesthetics, function, and sustainability while considering market trends, target audiences, and production constraints. Through hands-on projects, critiques, and case studies, participants will develop skills in concept development, structural design, and visual storytelling, culminating in professional-quality portfolio pieces.

Introduction to Art and Design History

2018

This introductory, undergraduate course offers a chronological survey of art and design, spanning from historic to contemporary works across diverse cultures and movements. Beginning with Classical and Medieval movements, the course briefly reviews 14th–early 19th centuries (Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism) through the mid and late 19th century (Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism and Art Nouveau). We then move to Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Bauhaus, and Surrealism prior to and alongside Modernism. 20th century movements such as Art Deco, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Postmodernism, Minimalism, and Deconstructivism foreground contemporary movements 4 such as Digital Art, New Media, Speculative Design, and Critical Design. Scholarship by theorists (e.g., Aristotle, Walter Benjamin, Clement Greenberg, Guy Debord, Susan Sontag, Rosalind Krauss, and Hal Foster) emphasizes cultural literacy as well as contextualizes the evolution of artistic and design practices within their social, political, and technological environments. Through lectures, discussions, and visual analysis, students will be introduced to how art and design have shaped and reflected human culture, providing a strong foundation for creative and critical thinking in their own design practice.

Adobe Creative Suite for Designers

2012–2015

Undergraduate, studio course equips students with essential industry-standard skills in the Adobe Creative Suite software, including: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, and Premiere. The course emphasizes practical techniques and workflows to enhance creativity and productivity. Students will learn to create vector graphics, edit and manipulate images, design layouts for print and digital media, produce motion graphics, and edit video content.

2018–2022

This advanced, undergraduate seminar is the culminating experience for BFA design students, focusing on research, concept development, and production of a comprehensive capstone project. Emphasizing 5 the integration of historical and contemporary cultural contexts, students will engage in in-depth exploration of design theory, applying insights to their individual work. Through guided research, critiques, and hands-on practice, students will refine their concepts and create a professional-level body of work. This capstone experience serves as a bridge to the professional world, equipping students with a strong portfolio and a nuanced understanding of their place within the evolving design industry. Past projects included a narrative video game about fairytales and failure, a humanized data visualization campaign for marginalized Olympic athletes, and augmented reality installation centering Hong Kong food culture in diaspora. 

2018–2025

Undergraduate students work to advance their visual communication design undergraduate-level thesis work, producing a cohesive body of work that is exhibited in the university art galleries. Through research, studio visits, critical feedback, and iterative design processes, students refine their design interventions and conceptual body of research-creation before orally defending their ideas first in front of a committee of selected faculty and then before the entire art, art history, and design faculty.