Marisa Millard
Division of Humanities and Education
Professor of Art
Coordinator, Art: Animation & Motion Graphics, Graphic Design, Web Design & Media Arts

     Office: H215
     Extension: x2691

Education:
M.F.A. Visual Communications, University of North Texas
B.A. English, B.F.A. Graphic Design, Texas Christian University

Philosophy:
My teaching approach centers around helping students acquire the tools they need to generate creative ideas to solve a given problem. I emphasize that good visual solutions can affect perceptions, re-contextualize information, influence public awareness, and persuade. To help students translate concepts into visual terms, I introduce theories of visual perception, semiotics, and rhetoric. Through critiques and written evaluations of their own work and others', the students become adept at analyzing and articulating the strengths and weaknesses of the work and then applying that knowledge to future projects. In order to stay current in design, my responsibilities as an educator extend beyond the classroom; I maintain a professional design practice, as well as continuing research into theories that can be applied to visual communication, into how design educators in different countries approach teaching, and into how to more effectively use the design process and critique in class. As a part of the Art Program at BCC for the past ten years, my own work has been enriched through my sustained contact with students and advisees as they are becoming designers themselves, able to effectively express their ideas through the visual language.

Courses Taught:

Affiliations:
College Arts Association

Awards:
Fort Worth Society of Creative Communications Award of Excellence several times
Fort Worth Advertising Club: Gold Addy Award
College Communications Gold award for BCC catalog redesign
NISOD Teaching Excellence Award

Interests:
Visual prosody, application of semiotics and rhetoric to the practice of graphic design