UNITED DESIGNS - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Executive Director Minneapolis, USA http://designcue.com Alan Colvin has worked within branding and design companies, on the client-side, as an independent consultant, and as a business owner. Working with some of the best creative talents in… Read More Alan Colvin has worked within branding and design companies, on the client-side, as an independent consultant, and as a business owner. Working with some of the best creative talents in the world, across design and communication disciplines, and including two AIGA medalists, Alan has created and led the creation of award-winning work in brand identity, print, packaging, digital and environmental design.

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Designer, Author

Brenda McManus is a designer, author, and educator based in NYC. A founding partner of the award-winning studio BRED, the graphic design studio, research, and design education lab of Brenda McManus and Ned Drew. She is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and current Chair of the Art Department at Pace University-NYC. Brenda is an ambassador for the Innovation Center for Design Excellence, and her research encompasses typography, integrating antiquated and contemporary technology and methods of making and collaborative design processes. Brenda received her MS and MFA from Pratt Institute's Graduate Communication Design Program and has experience in design research, design management, art direction, design writing, and a passion for typography. McManus is the co-author, designer, and printer of the limited-edition letterpress book Drew's ABCs and co-author of George Giusti: The Idea is the Heart of the Matter. Her work has been included in Graphic Design Solutions, 4th Ed, Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 6th edition, Color Management for Logos and Color Management: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers, and Pressing Matters issue 6. McManus's work has also been recognized by the Society of Typographic Arts, AIGA, the TDC, the Art Directors Club, the FPO Awards, Creativity, the UCDA, IDA, and Graphis, Communication Arts, Print, and How magazines.

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Executive Director New Orleans, USA http://www.desigNERDmarx.com Daniela Marx is a Full Professor of Graphic Design at Loyola University New Orleans. She looks to Loyola's Jesuit mission of social justice to shape Loyola's design students.

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Executive Director Boston, USA http://www.tarallodesign.com Donald Tarallo (BA Studio Arts, Clark University; MFA Graphic Design, RISD; Postgraduate studies at Basel School of Art and Design, Switzerland) has taught at Clark University, RISD, the Fraunhofer Institute's Digital… Read More »Donald Tarallo

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Founder
• President
• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board

Dr. Albert Young Choi is the founder and president emeritus of the United Designs Alliance (UDA), an international design association, and is a professor of brand design and experience design at Hanyang University's ERICA campus. He served as Associate Vice-President of the Office of International Affairs and Dean of the International Institute of Education. To achieve successful results, he has carried out various design projects for local, national, and global consumers in the United States, Korea, and China. He is also the author of "Brand Design: Communication Design for Branding" and "Culture Code Brand Design Methodology (CCBD). He completed a National Research Project, ‘National Standard Street Name Sign and Building Number Sign System,' in conjunction with the New National Address System. Also, Albert is the author of "Hangeul-Gak," exploring the beauty and utilization of Hangeul through his design style, collection, and experimental typography. He designs original typefaces and uses them for various innovative design projects. Leading international design organizations recognize his achievements in analyzing and studying visual language and culture through collaborating design and strategy, and the US Library of Congress preserves his designs as permanent collections.

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Executive Director Hyngary https://www.behance.net/sarkanylatvany Ferenc Kiss was born in Szeged in 1972. He is a graphic designer, artist, and lecturer. Graduated from the University of Szeged and University of Pécs. Since 1996 He has been… Read More

Job Titles:

• Chairman of the Department of Fine
• Executive Directors, Members

Hilary Dana Williams is Chair of the Department of Fine + Performing Arts and an Associate Professor of Graphic Design + Digital Media at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire. She is the 2016 recipient of the Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching, the college's highest teaching award, which is presented annually to a faculty member who has made a distinct, positive difference in the college's academic climate. Through both teaching and design, Hilary aims to move people. She is committed to both independent and client-based design projects that support things she cares about deeply: arts, community, education, environment, farms, food, health, and place. She grew up on the coast of Maine with an art table in her house and a compost bin in her yard, and she attributes her sustained interest in the intersection between visual communication and environmental consciousness to these early roots. She has had her work in environmental graphics, identity design, and editorial design recognized and awarded in regional, national, and international design competitions. Recently, she collaborated on a small faculty/staff team to develop the Sustainable Learning Initiative at Franklin Falls, a model for a new experiential learning partnership (between the college and a nearby community in the midst of sustainable revitalization) that received two rounds of funding from the Davis Educational Foundation Innovation. Prior to returning to her home region of New England and joining the Colby-Sawyer community in 2012, Hilary was an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She received her MFA in Studio Art: Graphic Design from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she developed A Fork in the Road as her Project in Lieu of Thesis. Her ongoing commitment to this graduate work has led to the research and design of a series of seasonal calendars of local foods for various locales: East Tennessee Eats, Iowa Ingredients, and New Hampshire Nosh to date. Hilary received her BA in Studio Art and Environmental Studies from Williams College, where she received the Robert F. Rosenburg Award for Excellence in Environmental Studies, awarded to a member of the graduating class in recognition of outstanding scholarship, the potential for solving local, national, or international environmental problems, and strong prospects for leadership in the environmental community. Director New London, New Hampshire, USA http://hilarydana.com Hilary Dana Williams is Chair of the Department of Fine + Performing Arts and an Associate Professor of Graphic Design + Digital Media at Colby-Sawyer College in New… Read More

Director Korea My understanding of design is that design is not only to cater to consumers' needs but to guide them to consume. It is not only to beautify life but, more importantly, to create… Read More »Hongwei Li

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Executive Director Umkirch, Germany http://www.kamedesign.com Joachim's capabilities span across information design, logos and identity design, illustration and character creation, typography and typeface design, offering 31 years of experience in print media and 21 years in… Read More

Job Titles:

• Design Innovation Project Director and Professor of Graphic Design at California State University
• Executive Directors, Members
• Professor

John T. Drew is The Design Innovation Project Director and Professor of Graphic Design at California State University, Fullerton. His university has recognized him on ten occasions for his teaching, research, and writing. He is the co-author of Color Management: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers (Rotovison 2005, Allworth Press 2012); Choosing Color for Logos & Packaging: Solutions for 2D & 3D Designs (Rotovision 2009); Color Management for Packaging: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers (Rotovision 2008); Color Management for Logos (Rotovision 2006); Acuity Color Matching System (Rotovision 2005), and the coeditor and contributing author to Design Education in Progress: Process and Methodology (Virginia Commonwealth University Communication Arts and Design Center for Design Studies). His books have been translated into 8 foreign languages. Professor Drew holds a U.S. patent for The Effect of Distance on Typographic Form, Color, and Motion is a lifetime honorary member of the Korean Brand Association and is an institutional representative for the National Association of Art Schools and Design and a NASAD visiting evaluator. Professor Drew has served as a Design Faculty Research Grant Reviewer for the National Steering Committee of the AIGA DEC (2013-2014), and a consultant for the Americans With Disabilities Act. ICO-D, AIGA, SEGD, Ad Club, The Society for Technical Communication, and numerous publications and books have recognized Professor Drew's research and design.

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board

Job Titles:

• Graphic Designer
• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board

Jürgen Hefele works as a graphic designer specializing in visual communication and brand identity design. He also teaches at the Faculty of Design at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany. He holds a master's degree from the Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. In 2004 he established an ongoing Erasmus student exchange program with the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul. He has curated several exhibitions on visual arts and design. Over the years he has run design workshops in Istanbul, Izmir, Eskişehir as well as in Prague and Nairobi. In 2015 he was invited to take part in an international sustainable design project in Sinop, Turkey. He lives and works in his native Augsburg, teaching design and running his own studio. He believes that it is important for a designer to be curious, open-minded, and to look for inspiration in all fields of art, culture, and in the world around us. He loves typography, photography, and drawing in his sketchbooks. It is important for him to implement analog as well as digital design methods in his teaching and design philosophy. He believes that a playful approach has an important role to play in the creative and conceptual design process.

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Executive
• Associate Professor of Fashion Design at Shingu College

Executive Director Seoul, Korea Jaeeun Paek is an Associate Professor of Fashion Design at Shingu College. She has a Bachelor of Science from Yonsei University, Korea, and a Master of Art in Fashion Design and… Read More

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Lisa M. Graham, MFA, is an award-winning visual communicator, artist, author, and a Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. She has exhibited her digital art prints in 125 regional, national, and international exhibitions including in Dallas, Honolulu, Savannah, Los Angeles; Tehran, Iran; Limassol, Cyprus; Cheonan, South Korea; and Tokyo, Japan. She has produced a visual communication industry work for regional, national, and international clients. Her publications include the books Sustainability Research by Designers (2011), Basics of Design: Layout and Typography for Beginners 2e in English and Japanese (2005, 2008), Basics of Design: Layout and Typography for Beginners (2002), Principles of Interactive Design (1999), and numerous paper presentations and peer-reviewed journal articles on gestalt theory, experience design, environmental typography, design ethics, and sustainable design.

Job Titles:

• Graphic Designer

Meaghan A. Dee is both a practicing graphic designer and a design educator. She is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech. Meaghan also serves as a docent for the Letterform Archive in San Francisco. She served for seven years as the Chair of the Graphic Design program at Virginia Tech and six years (two as Co-Chair) on the AIGA Design Educators Community (AIGA DEC) Executive Board. Meaghan received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, with a focus in Graphic Design, and a Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, with a focus in Visual Communication Design. Director Blacksburg, USA Meaghan A. Dee is both a practicing graphic designer and a design educator. She is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Creativity, Arts, and… Read More »Meaghan Dee

Job Titles:

• Senior Designer at LPK, Inc

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Executive Director Jedlicze, Poland https://www.facebook.com/patrycja.longawa Patrycja Longawa was born in 1988 in Sanok, Poland. In 2012, she obtained the Master of Fine Arts majoring in Art Education with a specialization in painting at the University… Read More

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members
• Member of Art Directors Club

Ping Xu was born and raised in Shanghai. He began his professional career and served as an Art Director, a Creative Director, and a Production Director in the Shanghai advertising industry since 1988. He began teaching at Kansas State University in 2003, continued his teaching career through the University of Southern Mississippi from the Fall semester of 2005, then through Truman State University in January 2010. Ping joined The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Fall 2015. Ping's expertise includes identity design, poster design, advertising design, interactive design, digital photography, and typography. Ping has been teaching visual communication design courses at all levels in the U.S. academic domain since 2005. His research interest is to create visual concepts through practical experiments and contemporary media and to deliver ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers/target audiences. Ping Xu received a total of twenty Bronze Awards in INDIGO Award International Design Annual Competitions 2018 in Amsterdam, 2019 in Malaga, and 2020 in Bangkok. He received a total of seven Silver and Bronze awards in the United Designs Alliance (UDA)'s International Annual Design Awards in Seoul 2018, 2019, and 2020. In February 2020, Ping also received an Honorable Mention of 2019 London International Creative Competition (LICC) in London. From 2007 to 2020, Ping received thirteen American Advertising Awards in ADDY Awards club competitions in Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Ping has showcased many logos on LogoLounge.com, and his identity design was selected by LogoLounge Book 12 and will be published in November 2020. He also published ten works of graphic design and illustration in Volume-IX, Volume-VII, and Volume-XI of the International Contemporary Artists book in 2013, 2014, and 2016, and published seven graphic design works by UDA Annual in 2018 and 2019. In addition to every annual faculty show in UTRGV, Ping also submitted work to join some professional exhibitions. Some of his graphic design works were accepted by some national exhibitions in St. Louis Missouri, Naples Florida, and some international exhibitions in Korea, China, and Taiwan. Ping Xu initiated the Cross Connections International Design Exhibition and curated it in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2018 respectively. As an international exchange program, the visual communication juried exhibitions represented significant overviews of international graphic design trends, featuring faculty and students works from many international institutions that were making their marks in the Visual Communication field within their respective countries. The participating institutions in past years were selected from the United States, Germany, Russia, Belgium, South Africa, Mexico, China, and Taiwan. In 2018, Ping curated the Cross Connections 2018 International Exhibition of Design & Illustration and collaborated with Brownsville Museum of Fine Art (BMFA) to showcase 96 works of visual communications and illustrations created by international faculty and students from ten participating institutions. They were The University of Texas Arlington (UTA); School of The Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC); Central Academy of Fine Arts, China (CAFA); Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, China (LAFA); Shanghai University, China (SHU); LUCA School of Arts, Belgium (LUCA); Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos Mexico (UAEM), Ming Chuan University, Taiwan (MCU), and National Design Institute at Moscow, Russia (NDI). The purpose of this exhibit was to give a cosmopolitan view of the most exciting new work in graphic media. Eight participating institutions exhibited the ninety-six works about two weeks on their respective campuses. Ping Xu has been leading Study Abroad trips since 2011. After joining UTRGV, he led graphic design students to participate in an internship program through the UTRGV Study Abroad Asia program which enabled students an edge in the competitive job market and exploring Asia cultures. The internship companies were Ogilvy, TBWA, McCann, Leo Burnett, and Saatchi & Saatchi from 2011 to 2019. Ping Xu is a member of Art Directors Club, New York, a member of Type Directors Club, (TDC), New York, a member of American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), a member of American Advertising Federation (AAF), and a member of United Designs Alliance (UDA). To maintain a professional practice, Ping works as a freelancer to help design many pro bono works for local communities, non-profit organizations, and international clients. Executive Director Associate Professor of Graphic DesignThe University of Texas Rio Grande Valley http://www.pxstudio.us Ping Xu was born and raised in Shanghai. He began his professional career and served as an Art Director, a Creative… Read More

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members
• Program Director of the Visual Arts at UCLA Extension

Executive Director Los Angeles, USA https://www.scotthutchinson.com/ Scott Hutchinson is the Program Director of the Visual Arts at UCLA Extension. Currently, he is organizing TEDx UCLA. Scott works for the design, studio, photography, and art history programs at UCLA Extension,… Read More

Job Titles:

• Director Korea

Director Korea SHENG YI is 28 years old, and he comes from China. He is currently studying for a PhD at Hanyang University School of Design. At the same time, he is a design enthusiast.

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor at California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Executive Director Los Angeles, USA http://sooyunin.info Sooyun Im is an Associate Professor at California State Polytechnic University Pomona. She teaches a wide range of graphic design courses including Web design, Motion graphics, Environmental Graphic Design,… Read More »SooYun Im

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board
• Professor and Program Coordinator of Visual Communication Design at California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Sarah A. Meyer is a Professor and Program Coordinator of Visual Communication Design at California State Polytechnic University Pomona (CPP). Sarah has acted at CPP as Chair of the Art Department and Interim Associate Dean of the College of Environmental Design, comprised of Architecture, Art, Art History, Visual Communication Design, Landscape Architecture, Regenerative Studies, and Urban & Regional Planning. She has previously held faculty positions at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, The University of Utah, and California State University Fullerton. She has been a visiting professor of visual communications and motion graphics at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Sarah has a record of leadership of art and design programs that fosters faculty governance, curriculum development, and innovative and academic vision at comprehensive universities. Her design, multidisciplinary, and leadership skills have resulted in a passion for developing professional partnerships across universities and within diverse academic settings. She is co-author of Color Management: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers, Color Management for Logos: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers, Color Management for Packaging: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers, Choosing Color for Logos & Packaging: Solutions for 2D & 3D Design, and the Acuity Color Matching System. Sarah has been invited to speak at the International Council of Design (ico-D), AIGA, and the College Arts Association on topics related to color theory, curriculum development, and administration. Her design work has been exhibited in numerous publications and received excellence awards from design associations, including The Society of Technical Communications and The Art Directors Club.

Director Qingdao, China Wang Xin majored in visual communication design and mainly engaged in Visual Identity System design and other related work. She has worked in well-known brand planning agencies in Nanjing and Qingdao, China.… Read More »Wang Xin

Director Korea WANG YIJIE has worked in the college, in teaching, as a lecturing teacher. WANG YIJIE mainly undertook the teaching of landscape design in the college. He also participated in the teaching and design… Read More »Wang Yijie

Director Harbin, China As a learner in the field of design, I think design is the most intuitive way to convey beauty and lifestyle. There are many ways to convey emotions and feelings. But visual… Read More »Wenbo Wei

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board

VP of Design Research Executive Director Jinan, China UDA Vice President of Design Research (2024-present) https://www.facebook.com/syprain.yao Yao Xupeng is an associate professor at the Institute of Brand and Communication, Shandong University. Member of China Arts… Read More

Job Titles:

• Director Korea

Director Korea Yuhao Zhang, a Ph.D. student at Hanyang University, graduated from Chengdu University of Information Technology in 2020 with a degree in Visual Communication Design and is currently enrolled in the Graduate School of… Read More

Director Korea I graduated from Aberystwyth University in the UK with a Bachelor of Creative Arts degree. After that, I entered the University of Leeds in 2021 and obtained a Master's in Design. While at… Read More »Yuran Yang

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members

Job Titles:

• Director Korea

Director Korea Zhao An is a designer, illustrator, and photographer. He is studying for a Ph.D. in visual design at Hanyang University. Passionate about art and design, he is keen on designing with a focus… Read More

Job Titles:

• Director Korea

Director Korea Zhao Jiajia is a Ph.D. from Hanyang University in South Korea. Master's degree from China University of Mining and Technology. He is a member of China Nantong Artists Association. Member of China European… Read More

Job Titles:

• Executive Directors, Members, Presidential Board

Director Korea Zhu Qianqian once worked at Dazhong Daily Client as a new media designer. In the news industry, Zhu Qianqian has demonstrated outstanding professional abilities and is committed to extracting critical points from a… Read More »Zhu Qianqian