2020 Judges
For the UCDA Design Awards we’ve assembled a panel of judges composed of designers, design educators, photographers, and illustrators. Your work will be peer-reviewed independently in each competition by others who understand the environments in which you create.
This year’s judges include:
PHOTOGRAPHY JUDGES
GLENN ASAKAWA
Glenn Asakawa, associate director of photography for the University of Colorado Boulder, oversees the marketing and PR photography for this Pac-12 public research university. He joined CU Boulder, his alma mater, in 2008. He has more than 25 years experience as a newspaper photojournalist working at the Denver Post and on the staff of the Rocky Mountain News, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize with the photography staff for coverage of the Columbine tragedy in 2000. He also won multiple photography awards working at photography positions in Los Angeles and in Boulder. He has travelled the world and covered events such as Presidential inaugurations, Vatican Consistory, the Super Bowl, the aftermath of 9/11 in New York City and has taken photo enthusiasts on tours of Cuba. He enjoys finding the extraordinary in stories of ordinary people and places and presenting them in a compelling and dignified way.
Though born in Japan, his family moved to the US when he was 2 and has travelled back many times to visit with relatives and friends. He loves to travel and spend time with his family and two very Instagram-friendly tortoiseshell cats.
SUSAN MCSPADDEN
In her career as a photographer, Susan McSpadden has worked primarily for newspapers and magazines as both a full-time staffer and photo editor for The Kansas City Star and then as a freelancer in the Kansas City area. Currently, she is the sole photographer for the largest community college in the state of Kansas, Johnson County Community College. Although she’s covered countless amazing stories, photographed several U.S. presidents, lots of celebrities and even the Pope, she is proudest of her work as a college photographer. “I get to see students learn so much about themselves and transform their lives while they are here. It’s great to be in an environment where, every day amidst the chaos of the world, you get to witness people helping each other be better!” Susan is also a board member for the University Photographer’s Association of America. She is married to a graphic designer and has two kids who keep them on the run with their passion for hockey. When she’s not behind the camera or in the bleachers watching the kids, she loves good conversation and dry humor with friends, live music, and dessert of every kind.
CYDNEY SCOTT
Cydney Scott has been a professional photographer since graduating from the Ohio University VisCom program in 1998. She spent ten years shooting for newspapers, first in upstate New York at The Auburn Citizen where she earned the title of National Photographers Association of America’s (NPAA) Region 2 Photographer of the Year. Following The Citizen she spent six years on staff at The Palm Beach Post in south Florida. After accepting a buyout from The Post in 2008, she returned to her home city of Boston and built up Cydney Scott Photography before joining Boston University Photography in 2010. In 2011 Cydney was recognized by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as the National Photographer of the Year.
ILLUSTRATION JUDGES
SOOJIN BUZELLI
SooJin Buzelli has been art directing and designing financial publications and industry events since 1996. She implemented a new vision for the design of PLANSPONSOR, and translated that success into the creative direction of many ISS Media products including PLANADVISER and Chief Investment Officer. SooJin’s art-directed pieces have been recognized by American Illustration, Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Spectrum, Society of Illustrators, and Society of Publication Designs. SooJin holds an Illustration BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She is very active in the illustration community: served as a board member to Illustration Conference and judged many illustration competitions including American Illustration and Society of Illustrators. She was awarded the prestigious 2015 Richard Gangle Art Director Award and most recently was inducted into Folio’s 2019 Edit and Design Hall of Fame.
CORA LYNN DEIBLER
Cora Lynn Deibler received a BFA in Communication Design from Kutztown University, and an MFA in Illustration from Syracuse University as a University Fellow. She taught at Truman State University from 1995-97. Since 1997 Deibler has been Area Coordinator for Illustration/Animation at The University of Connecticut in The Department of Art + Art History. She has also served as Associate Department Head and Interim Department Head at UConn.
Deibler creates editorial and children’s illustration, and performed as Spider magazine’s serial artist from January 2004-09. Awards have included HOW, the Print Regional Annual, RSVP, and The New York State Press Association, among others. Her work appeared in “Women in Illustration: Contemporary Visions and Voices” and “Picturing Health,” both at the Norman Rockwell Museum, a venue showcasing the best of visual narrative storytelling in the United States.
She is a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and Phi Kappa Phi. She participates in shows at the Society of Illustrators Museum of American Illustration in New York City, and served on the Society’s Educators Symposium Committee and Education Committee. She recently served as a Board Member and Chair of Communications with the National Council of Arts Administrators, and currently serves as a Board Member with the Low Illustration Committee at the New Britain Museum of American Art.
PAMELA FOGG
Pamela Fogg is the owner and creative director for Pamela Fogg Design, an editorial design and consulting studio in Vermont. Prior to that she was the creative director at Middlebury College where she worked for over 20 years and art directed the award-winning Middlebury Magazine. Pam’s work has been recognized by the Society of Publication Designers, CASE, UCDA, and 3x3. She has served on the UCDA board of directors, is currently serving on the UCDA Foundation board and has co-chaired conferences and judged competitions for CASE and UCDA. Pam is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and has resided in Vermont for 25 years.
STUDENT JUDGES
DENISE BOSLER
Denise Bosler is the chair and professor of communication design at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and is an award-winning graphic designer, illustrator, and author. She is also the principal of BOSLER, a design firm that focuses on brand identity, print collateral, packaging, and hand lettering. Denise’s mantra remains simple—kern well and design great. She is the author of Mastering Type:The Essential Guide to Typography for Print and Web Design and Creative Anarchy, both from HOW Books; and frequently speaks and writes about design for a variety of print and digital audiences.
KELLY SALCHOW MACARTHUR
Kelly Salchow MacArthur is an associate professor of graphic design at Michigan State University. Her visually articulated concepts and design work have appeared in national and international publications and exhibitions, including Graphis, Print, Creative Quarterly, GD USA, the International Institute for Information Design (IIID), the Type Directors Club, the American Alliance of Museums, and United Designs. She is the president of the United Designs Alliance, as well as a member of UCDA’s Design Educator’s Advisory Committee, and the College Art Association’s (CAA’s) Committee on Intellectual Property. She also served as president of the Detroit chapter of AIGA, the professional associate for design, 2009-2011, which followed five years of service as education director for the Detroit and Kansas City chapters. Professor Salchow MacArthur has presented at AIGA, UCDA, CAA, IIID, and Design Principles & Practices conferences, and has guest-lectured at several universities. She received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a BS in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati.
A retired two-time Olympian, she balances her passion for design and education with miles of rowing on the Huron River.
KEVIN SMITH
Kevin Smith is currently an associate professor in the area of media studies in the School of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University. As co-creator of the Visual Media track, Kevin focuses on the aspects of visual storytelling. As media channels evolve, Kevin has concentrated his interests from graphic design, to cinematography, 2D and 3D motion graphics in filmmaking and currently augmented reality. Kevin places emphasis on their incorporation into the overall visual storytelling process. Kevin’s body of work has received recognition both internationally and nationally including design competition awards, work in books, magazine features, and state archival permanent collection inclusion.
PRINT JUDGES
FRANK BASEMAN
Frank Baseman is the creative director and principal of Baseman Design Associates, an award-winning, interdisciplinary graphic design firm providing strategic design thinking through visual communication solutions to a variety of businesses, corporations, and institutions. Frank is also a professor in the Graphic Design Communication program at Thomas Jefferson University, where he has taught since 1998. He is also the proprietor and printer of Base Press, a letterpress printing studio. The work of Baseman Design Associates and Base Press has received recognition from numerous national and international communication organizations, design exhibitions, and publications.
LADONNA CHERRY
LaDonna Cherry has served as a creative director in higher education for 25+ years. During that time, she has managed the development of award-winning marketing and communications materials for Emory University, Spelman College, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
LaDonna also worked as a graphic designer at Burrell Communications Group, a transcultural advertising, public relations, and marketing agency headquartered in Chicago. She has experience in the fields of publication design, advertising, and nonprofit communications. LaDonna has been an active member of UCDA since 1997. She holds a Master of Science degree in mental health counseling and donates her time and voice to address social issues, support neighborhood and personal transformations, and creating sustainable opportunities. She believes that life-long learning, awareness of cultural diversity, and passionate involvement can not only improve individuals, but advance whole communities.
MICHAEL HUTZEL
Michael Hutzel has spent the last 15 years working as an art director, creative director, and brand strategist at several agencies in the Nashville area. Michael has created integrated campaigns and branding initiatives for Bridgestone/Firestone, BASF, LP Building Products, Kraft Foods, the Tennessee Titans, and the Nashville Predators just to name a few. He co-founded FoxFuel with the belief that creatives can and should be building the next great startup companies, and helping brands re-imagine their products in the digital landscape. When asked, his team describes him as sarcastic, wise, brilliant, encouraging, and sarcastic.
DIGITAL JUDGES
MARK CLIFTON
Mark has over two decades’ experience as a designer and front-end developer with a particular focus on crafting and scaling accessible, cross-media design systems. As a senior web designer with Emory University Communications and Public Affairs, he is responsible for guiding the web brand strategy and design patterns put to use across the university’s websites. Prior to joining Emory in 2017, he served as creative director for veterinary marketing agency Beyond Indigo, and he has practiced as an independent design consultant for clients in a variety of industries. He holds a BFA in Communication Arts + Design from Virginia Commonwealth University.
TRACEY HALVORSEN
Tracey Halvorsen is an artist, a consultant, and an entrepreneur. She recently founded Create Velocity, a consultancy focused on innovation and business growth, as well as joined on as co-founder and chief experience officer at the startup Return Solutions, Inc. Tracey is focused on customer experiences that intuitively connect a client’s organizational and individual user needs, which build stronger internal relationships and enable more successful business engagements. Her true passion is in exploring the intersection of creativity and innovation. Prior to 2019, Tracey spent the first 25 years of her career developing strategies and technologies that have twice landed her agency Fastspot on Inc. 5000’s Fastest Growing Companies, while building long-lasting, collaborative relationships with clients such as Yale University, The Walters Art Museum, Sheppard Pratt Health System, and the Maryland Institute College of Art. She grew her agency to 30 employees and $5 million in annual revenue, developing sustainable digital strategies for clients including Brown University, Ford’s Theatre, Kenyon College, and BWI Airport.
She is an accomplished writer, painter, speaker, and leader, utilizing her blend of creativity and business expertise to cultivate cultural and team-focused synergies that produce outstanding results.
SARAH OLDENBURG
Sarah Oldenburg is currently based in Oakland, California as a senior digital designer at the University of California. Over the past decade she has refined her craft in small local studios and global digital agencies. She is dedicated to making an impact through a variety of digital experiences with a focus on mission driven work and advocacy.
VIDEO JUDGES
JEFF BAGLEY
Jeff Bagley began his career in advertising as a copywriter in Phoenix, Arizona. But, after growing up in Seattle, Washington, Arizona was just too dang hot. He moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to join an advertising agency called Dahlin, Smith White. They had just won a tech account called Intel. Jeff was on the team that created the Intel Inside campaign and then went on to create their first TV commercials with the help of famed special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic. Jeff then helped launch the Iomega Zip, Jaz, and Ditto Drives and created Super Bowl commercials for the company. Over the years, he was worked in New York, Chicago, and London. In 2014, Jeff was recruited to come to the University of Utah as its first chief creative director for University Marketing & Communications. Since joining UMC, Jeff has led a creative team of art directors, designers, videographers, and editors that has created many award-winning campaigns. When he’s not working, Jeff loves to ski with his children. He and his wife are the parents of five children and have five grandchildren. He is a published photographer, has owned his own camera store, and loves traveling the world taking photographs.
ROSS BRADLEY
Ross Bradley’s passion for design started at a young age. He drew airplanes and dinosaurs mostly. It was hard to tell them apart, but his mom hung them up anyway. Since then he has gotten a little better at visual communication and spent over a decade in the advertising industry developing nationally awarded work. Currently a creative director at Rodgers Townsend in St. Louis, some of the brands he’s been fortunate to work on include Anheuser-Busch, Bass Pro Shops, Germ-X, the Saint Louis Cardinals, Saint Louis University, Dingo Rawhides, Hartford Insurance, Cutter Insect Repellent, and Subway Restaurants.
LISA F. CRAWFORD
Lisa Crawford is the director of video and multimedia at William & Mary. Lisa believes that video is an important component of marketing and messaging for any institution. Lisa started her professional career in higher education at Virginia Commonwealth University where she was the senior producer for VCU-TV/HD, a television production operation that produced programming about the university. She produced nearly 9 hours of programing including two Emmy Award winning documentaries.
After VCU, Lisa freelanced across Virginia producing videos and working on films like Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and National Geographic’s Killing Lincoln. In 2013, she brought her skillsets to William & Mary, re-entering the world of higher education.