Biography

As a child, I was surrounded by the arts. My father and two aunts attended Black Mountain College, and their stories of studying with Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers, Ruth Asawa, and Merce Cunningham fired my imagination and inspired me to pursue a career in the arts. I studied Design and Photography at the California College of the Arts, where I had the good fortune to learn from numerous innovative artists and thinkers, including Larry Sultan, Suzanne Lacy, and Michael Manwaring.

Today, I am a partner and creative director at studio1500 in San Francisco, where I work with cultural organizations and thought leaders to visually communicate complex ideas and concepts.

I also work in the realm of self-initiated book design projects. My projects are driven by a desire to fuse my design experience with my artistic process, and to explore overlooked and marginalized subjects that have cultural relevance. Often my explorations involve large archives that I’ve built. Through my work, I aim to tease out patterns, relationships, and meaning. I see the structure of the book as a landscape of infinite possibilities for creative experimentation.

My recent book projects include American Bauhaus, a reflection on the storied Black Mountain College, The Pages Project, which explores the landscape of contemporary marginalia, and Ajo, a photographic exploration of the remote town of Ajo, Arizona.

Education
California College of the Arts, B.F.A., (With Distinction), San Francisco, California, 1993

Professional Experience
studio1500, Partner and Creative Director, 2007–Present
California College of the Arts, Senior Lecturer, 2014–present
San Jose State University, Guest Lecturer, 2013, 2012
Art Institute of San Francisco, Guest Lecturer, 2012, 2011
University of California Berkeley, Guest Lecturer, 2011, 2010
Pentagram, Senior Designer, 2001–2007
Erik Schmitt Design, Designer, 1998–2001

Membership/Juries
Member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Juror for the 20th, 21st, and 22nd annual Webby Awards.
Juror for the 2018 Spark Awards.

Artist Residencies, Commissions, and Fellowships
Artist in Residence, Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice, Italy, 2024
Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 2022
Finalist, Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 2022
Finalist, Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 2021
Finalist, Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 2018
Fellow, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, 2017—2018
Juried design competition winner, Market Street Prototyping Festival, San Francisco, CA, 2016
Juried design competition winner, Market Street Prototyping Festival, San Francisco, CA, 2015
Artist In Residence, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA, 2013

Workshops
Large Scale Digital Printing Workshop with Jon Zax, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, California, 2010
Painting Workshop with Jamie Brunson, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California, 2005
Darkroom Technique Workshop, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California, 2004
Photographic Techniques, University of California Extension, Berkeley, California, 2003
Owens Valley Photography Workshop with John Sexton, Carmel, California, 2002

Selected Group Exhibitions
The Center for Fine Art Photography, "Consumption", Fort Collins Colorado, July 2010
Cecile Moochnek Gallery, "Notations", Berkeley, California, May 2007

Published Books
American Bauhaus, Slanted Publishing, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2022
40 Blows, Self Published, Berkeley, California, 2021

Work in Collections
Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library | Yale University, New Haven, CT, 2022
Museum of Modern Art / Artists' Books Collection, New York, NY, 2022
Franklin Furnace Archive, New York, NY, 2022
Kunstbibliothek Sitterwerk, St.Gallen, Switzerland, 2022
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC), Asheville, NC, 2022
Letterform Archive, San Francisco, CA, 2022
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 2022
Environmental Design Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 2022
Problem Library, San Francisco, CA, 2022
San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA, 2022
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit - MOCAD, Detroit, MI, 2022
Jonathan Laib, Gallery Director, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY 2002
Claire Graves, President, The Webby Awards, New York, NY 2002
Mark Sinc, co-founder, The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO, 2022

Awards and Honors
Photolucida Critical Mass finalist, Portland, OR, 2022
A' Design Award. Como, Italy, 2017
Webby Award. New York, NY, 2015
Graphis, New York, NY, 2008
Exhibitor Silver Award for exhibit design, Rochester, MN, 2008
HOW, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2007
The Western Art Directors Club. New York, NY 2002
The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Certificate of Excellence, New York, NY, 2001
The Industrial Designers Society of America, Great Falls, VA, 2001
International Design Excellence Award (IDEA), Herndon, VA 2001

Selected coverage within Publications
TXT, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2016
Signage Design, Braun Publishing, Berlin, Germany, 2012
Symbol, Laurence King Publishing, London, UK, 2011
Graphis Logo Design, New York, NY 2008
Graphis Design Annual, New York, NY 2008
Exhibitor, Rochester, MN, 2008
I.D. New York, NY, 2007
Logo, Laurence King Publishing, London, UK, 2007
How, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2007
Exhibitor, Rochester, MN, 2007
Step, New York, NY 2007
Exhibitor, Rochester, MN, 2005
AIGA 365 Year in Design 22, New York, NY, 2002