UCDA Design Summit: Renaissance Designer

Shelly Jackman is the art director and designer in the Communications Office at Texas Wesleyan University. Shelly has been the primary architect of the university’s bold “Smaller. Smarter.” look and feel, and her strategic work on the university’s integrated marketing efforts have utilized photography, print and digital communications, web design, and video marketing. Since rebranding Texas Wesleyan University in 2012, her art direction has helped the university win over 90 advertising awards and the university has seen the largest gains in perception and awareness of any benchmark school in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

When not designing, Shelly is usually outside on her bike, aimlessly wandering various cities asking strangers for life advice.

Amy Levine is a partner and design director at Visual Asylum. Amy’s noteworthy career spans twenty years and encompasses art direction, design, and production of two- and three-dimensional graphic communication pieces. With a BFA in Design from the prestigious Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri, Levine is a Colorado transplant who now considers San Diego her home.

Amy’s work has been recognized by numerous organizations, including International Typographic Design, International Self Promotion, Print Magazine, How Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine, The American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Type Directors Club, and CASE Studies Magazine.

Serving on the board of directors for the San Diego Chapter of AIGA for over 15 years, Amy is a past president of the organization. During her tenure, she was appointed chair of the AIGA Y Conference in 2013, 2014, 2017. Amy also teaches Advanced Typography at San Diego City College.

MaeLin Levine is a partner and designer at Visual Asylum. Her work has been nationally recognized by multiple organizations. She was also awarded the prestigious AIGA Fellow Award in 2008. Originally from Leadville, Colorado, Levine holds a BFA in Graphic Communications Design from the University of Denver and participated in the AIGA professional program at Harvard Business School.

MaeLin served on the board of the San Diego Chapter of AIGA for sixteen years and was president for four years. In that role she was part of the team that envisioned and launched the Y Conference, now in its 23rd year, and developed the first ever international chapter of the organization.

More recently Levine has turned her attention toward a new passion project as President of the Board of Directors of the Urban Discovery Academy (UDA) – a highly successful K-8 charter school. This unique learning environment integrates the creative DNA of Visual Asylum into its curriculum and character development programs. Levine is also a design instructor at San Diego City College, where she has served as an adjunct faculty member for nearly twenty years.

Mike Roe is an award-winning creative director and copywriter at SimpsonScarborough with over 20 years’ experience. He started his career in Los Angeles, where he created copy and concepts for movie posters and theatrical trailers.

Since 2010, he has worked almost exclusively in higher education, writing and concepting print, web, and video campaigns for educational institutions including the College of William & Mary, Lehigh University, and the University of Arizona, to name a few. In 2016, his work was awarded Best at Show at the American Advertising Awards/AAF Columbus.

Jason Simon leads brand strategy and creative engagements with clients. Before joining SimpsonScarborough, Jason was the executive director of Marketing Communications for the University of California and, prior to that, he held a similar position at North Carolina State University.

Earlier in his career, he served in brand strategist roles supporting corporate and consumer brands, and was honored as the American Marketing Association’s Higher Education  Marketer of the Year in 2013.

DJ Stout is a fifth generation Texan born in the small west Texas town of Alpine.

During his thirteen-year tenure at Texas Monthly the prestigious regional magazine was nominated for twelve National Magazine awards and was the recipient of the award in the categories of best photography and general excellence.

DJ is a partner in Pentagram Design in the Austin, Texas, office where he specializes in the areas of publication design, magazine redesign, books, and editorial consultation as well as a wide range of projects including catalogs, branding, identity, annual reports, package design, interactive media, sales and marketing promotions, and exhibition design. He has been awarded numerous medals and awards from national and international graphic design organizations including the Art Directors Club of New York, the Society of Publication Designers, AIGA, and the Society of Illustrators. He has also won over 30 awards from UCDA.

Over the last 20 years, other recognition includes: American Photography Magazine selected DJ as one of the “100 Most Important People in Photography;” I.D. magazine profiled DJ as one of its “Fifty American Designers;” The Society of Illustrators awarded him the national Richard Gangel Art Director Award, an annual designation that honors art directors who have supported and advanced the art of illustration; and AIGA recognized DJ as a Fellow Award recipient for his exceptional contributions to the field of graphic design.

DJ is the author of three books: The Pictures of Texas Monthly: Twenty-Five Years; The Amazing Tale of Mr. Herbert and His Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club: An Illustrated History of the Best Little Semipro Baseball Team in Texas; and Variations on a Rectangle, a retrospective of DJ’s over thirty-year design career.

Petrula Vrontikis is a leading influence in graphic design. Her current work includes research, writing, consulting, creating brand communication strategies, training, and coaching. She is creative director and owner of Vrontikis Design Office, and a professor at ArtCenter College of Design where she teaches graphic design, career development, and professional practice courses.

Her professional practice gives her role as a teacher an important authenticity. She encourages students to explore their potential as designers and as a catalyst for change in the larger creative community. Her recent research has been focused on how the millennial generation learns differently from previous generations. She uses this information to most effectively guide her students into successful careers. This research is also being used by older generations to understand the most effective ways to work with young creative staff.

Petrula has authored four online courses for Lynda.com and LinkedIn related to running a graphic design business and managing creative staff. She has received an AIGA Fellows Award honoring her as essential in raising the understanding of design within the industry and among the business and cultural communities of Los Angeles.