2025

• AIGA Poster Show –Judges’ Choice

2016

• Herman J. Russel Center for Entrepreneurship, Business Plan Competition –2nd Place Prize – Elemenoh Studios

2013

• Society for News Design – Award of Excellence – CNN’s The Undecided
• Emmy Awards/Television Academy – Nominee/New Directions: Documentaries – Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stand

2012

• Investigative Reporters & Editors Award – CNN’s Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stronghold
• Foreign Press Association Award – Print & Web Feature – CNN’s Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stronghold
• Online Journalism Awards – Best Feature – CNN’s Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stronghold
• EPPY awards – Best Enterprise/Investigative Video – CNN’s Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stronghold
• EPPY awards – Best News Web Site – CNN

2011

• Edward R. Murrow Award – Broadcast Affiliated Website – CNN
• Society for News Design – World’s Best-Designed News Site – CNN
•  Society for News Design – World’s Best-Designed News App – CNN
• Peabody Award – CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute
• Peabody Award – CNN coverage of Gulf Oil Spill

2010

• Society of Publication Designers (SPD) – Gold Award – Website of the Year – CNN

2009

• Edward R. Murrow Award – Broadcast Affiliated Website – CNN
• Webby Awards – People’s Voice Award – CNN
• EPPY Awards – Best News Web Site – CNN

2008

• Peabody Award – CNN’s coverage of U.S. presidential election

2004

• One Show Awards – Silver Pencil – J. Walter Thompson – U.S. Marine Corp CDROM

2003

• One Show Awards – Bronze Pencil – J. Walter Thomspon – Marines.com
• Communication Arts Interactive Annual – J. Walter Thompson – Marines.com
• Favorite Website Awards – Site of the Year – J. Walter Thomspon – Marines.com
• Gold Addy Award – J. Walter Thompson – Marines.com

1998

•  Eppy Award – Best Newspaper Web Site – OnlineAthens.com
• Newspaper Association of America Digital Edge Award – OnlineAthens.com

Education

MFA/Graphic Design • Georgia State University • May 2017

• Winnie B. Chandler Fellow
• Student Innovation Fellow

Academic focus: Intersection of design, technology, environment, and theory.

BA/Program in Literature and English • Duke University • May 1996

• Israel B. Friedman Scholar

Academic focus: critical theory, post-colonial Studies, Latin American literature, 18^th-century British literature

Relevant Positions Academic & Professional

2015 – Present • Owner – Elemenoh Studios, LLC • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities include visual design, UX design, art direction, writing coding, day-to-day operations, etc. for this company which I began as a formalization of my freelance practice. Clients include Microsoft, Warner Brothers, Turner Broadcasting, The Charles and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Narrative Content Group/Mother Nature Network, and more.

2018 – 2025 •  Assistant Professor & Area Coordinator for Design • University of West Georgia • Carrollton, GA

Responsibilities included teaching undergraduate courses on fundamentals of design. The undergraduate program includes sophomores planning to apply to the BFA in Graphic Design, as well as juniors and seniors who have already been accepted into the program.

Courses taught include:

• History of Graphic Design
• Materials and Methods in Graphic Design
• Graphic Design Studio Problems
• Code as a Creative Medium
• Graphic Design I
• Graphic Design II | `
  Graphic Design III
• Graphic Design IV
• Graphic Design V
• Graphic Design VI
• Internship

2017 – 2018 • Visiting Assistant Professor • University of Tampa • Tampa, FL

Responsibilities included teaching undergraduate courses on fundamentals of design. The undergraduate includes sophomores planning to apply to the BFA in Graphic Design, as well as juniors and seniors who have already been accepted into the program.

Courses taught include:

• Graphic Design I
• Graphic Design III
• History of Graphic Design
• Senior Seminar

2015 – 2017 • Graduate Instructor • Georgia State University • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities included teaching undergraduate courses on fundamentals of design. The undergraduate includes sophomores planning to apply to the BFA in Graphic Design, as well as juniors and seniors who have already been accepted into the program.

Courses taught include:

• Introduction to Graphic Design
• Intermediate Graphic Design
• Corporate Identity Design
• Introduction to Typography

2014 – Present • Instructor • General Assembly • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities include teaching course to professionals and members of several Atlanta startup incubators who are looking to expand their skill sets or change career direction. I also regularly present and appear at round-table discussions about trending industry topics.

Courses taught include:

• Introduction to Mobile Visual Design
• Introduction to Mobile UX Design
• Data Science and Visualization Round Table
• Mobile Design Crash Course

2008 – 2015 • Art Director • CNN • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities included leading a team of visual and UX designers, developers, and visual journalists in producing compelling stories for all of CNN’s digital platforms: desktop, mobile, social, broadcast, and emerging platforms. Also lead training sessions for newsroom personnel on data visualization best practices, typography, photo editing, and animation principles.

2004 – 2008 • Art Director • Atlanta Journal-Consititution • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities included leading a team of visual and UX designers, and developers to aid in the day-to-day digital news production of the newspaper. Also acted as creative lead on special projects, and liaison between the creative team and the news team, in addition to teaching classes on photo editing, HTML and CSS, Flash animation, and more.

2002 – 2003 • Art Director & Project Manager (Contract) • J. Walter Thompson • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities included aiding the creative team on the Marines account to “think digitally” as we redesigned the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) website. The team of talented designers were all from traditional media backgrounds and I helped them translate the brand into compelling digital presentations. In addition to the USMC site, we also created an interactive CD-ROM to be used as a giveaway to prospective recruits. In addition to art director duties, I managed relationships between vendors, internal teams, and direct contacts within the Marine Corps. Additional duties  included occasional consultation on digital design matters with the Ford Motors and Orkin Pest Control teams, as well providing digital guidance and ideation for new business pitches.

2001 – 2002 • Director of Digital Communications and Graphics • ING Advisors Network • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities included streamlining digital communications processes and initiatives to assure compliance with web standards, style and brand guidelines. Designed and wrote copy for print and web marketing materials, decreasing client attrition and increasing brand awareness.

1999 – 2001 • Creative Director • Ockham Technologies • Atlanta, GA

Responsibilities included creating and managing overall brand of this startup company, managing production of marketing and advertising assets, as well as managing the team that produced interfaces for the application that was the company’s core product.

1997 – 1999 • Web Coordinator • Athen Banner-Herald • Athens, GA

Responsibilities included managing operations and design of newspaper’s web site, establishing better usability and more pertinent editorial content, increasing monthly page views by 40% in first six months in the position.

1996 – 1997 • Graphic Designer • Community Newspapers, Inc. • Athens, GA

Responsibilities included designing marketing materials, advertising, and internal communications, as well assisting in page redesigns of the various print newspapers owned by the company. Also led a team that designed and developed the company’s first website.

1994 – 1996 • Graphic Designer • Duke University Press • Durham, NC

Responsibilities included designing book covers, catalogs and marketing materials for academic publications.

Publications, Presentations, and Exhibitions

• 2025 • ‘Design from the Ground Up: Cultivating Empathy, Equity, and Impact’, Session Chair, 2025 SECAC Conference, Cincinnatti, OH; October 2025. (forthcoming)
• 2025 • ‘Neighborhood Rangers: A Case Study’, Presentation, 2025 SECAC Conference, Cincinnatti, OH; October 2025. (forthcoming)
• 2024 – ‘Graphic Design as a Catalyst for Collaborative Change: Envisioning (Post)Capitalist Futures’, Session Chair, 2024 SECAC Conference, Atlanta GA; October 2024.
• 2024 • ‘Multi-Sensory Frameworks for Community Co-Creation and Understanding’, Presentation, 2024 SE-CAC Conference, Atlanta GA; October 2024.
• 2024 • AIGA Poster Show, Juried Group Exhibition, Supermarket, Atlanta, GA; September 2024.
• 2024 • ‘Let’s Try It Another Way: Creating Immersive Classroom Experiences for Graphic Design Students through Bottom-Up Design Approaches’, Presentation, 2024 University and College Designers Association Education Summit, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ; May 2024.
• 2022 • Art Rez, Residency, Newnan, GA; December 2022.
• 2022 • ‘Mainifesting the Manifesto: Toward a Recognition of Design’s Culpability in the Mess We Are In and Ideas for a Way Forward’, Presentation, 2022 SECAC Conference, Baltimore, MD; October 2022.
• 2022 • “Studio Practice”, Group Exhibition, Library Gallery, Carrollton, GA; August-September 2022.
• 2021 • “Home”, Group Exhibition, Vault Gallery, Newnan, GA; September-October, 2021.
• 2021 – ‘Teaching Global Histories of Graphic Design.’ Community Moderator – Shift(ed) Summer Summit. Virtual: AIGA Design Educators Conference.
• 2021 • ‘Things COVID Teaching May Have Already Taught You about Universal Design for Learning (UDL).’ Innovations In Pedagogy Conference. Virtual, Carrollton, GA.
• 2021 •  ‘Universal Design for Learning 101: Tips and Strategies for Your Classroom,’ Innovations In Pedagogy Conference. Virtual, Carrollton, GA
• 2021 • Innovations In Pedagogy Conference, Proposal Review, Carrollton, GA.
• 2019 • Innovations In Pedagogy Conference, Proposal Review, Carrollton, GA.
• 2019 • AIGA Design Educators Conference, Proposal Review, Online.
• 2019 • “Tribute: A Reunion of Chandler Fellows,” Group Exhibition, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Galleries, Atlanta, GA; February-March, 2019.
• 2017 • Excerpts from Who’s He When He’s At Home? (see more), Solo Show, Oakland Park Galleries, April 3-7, 2017 – Atlanta, GA
• 2017 • Who’s He When He’s At Home? (see more), MFA Solo Thesis Exhibit, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Galleries, April 3-7, 2017 – Atlanta, GA
• 2015 • Interpolations, Exhibition of first and second year MFA students, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Galleries, May 2-20, 2015 – Atlanta, GA
• 2004 • One Show Interactive: Advertising’s Best Interactive and New Media, Vol. VII. Publication of designs for Marine Corp CD-ROM, pp. 108-109. ISBN: 0-929837-24-X
• 2003 • Communication Arts: Interactive Annual, September/October 2003. Publication of designs for Marine Corps website, pp. 102-103. ISSN: 0010-3519

Professional Affiliations

• AIGA
• Society for News Design
• Art Director’s Club
• Graphic Artists Guild
• Online News Association
• SECAC
• CAA
• AAUP

Service to Institution

University Committees

• 2022 – 2025 – Faculty Senate, Art Program Representative

College Committees

• 2020 – 2020 – UWG College of Arts, Culture, and Scientific Inquiry (CACSI) Executive Committee
• 2019 – 2020 – UWG College of Arts and Humanities (COAH) Executive Committee

Departmental/Program Committees

• 2022 – 2023 – Painting LTI Search Committee
• 2022 – 2025– University of West Georgia – Art Program Recruitment & Retention Sub-Committee
• 2020 – Present – University of West Georgia – Art Program Executive Committee
• 2018 – Present – University of West Georgia – Art Program Scholarship Committee
  • 2019 – 2021 – Chair
  • 2021 – 2022 – Co-Chair
• 2020 – Graphic Design Tenure-Track Search Committee

Other Service Activities

• 2021 – 2022– Innovative Research Project – Currently working with a cross-disciplinary team from different areas of the university to develop experiences for learning the history of the university through the use of
  emerging technologies.
•  2021 – Civic Engagement Vision Team – I was one of four representatives from UWG’s College of Art, Culture, and Scientific Inquiry to participate in an ad hoc team created to encourage student engagement in civic
  life through voting, volunteering, etc.
• 2018 – 2025 – Preview Days – Art Program’s representatives for University and College Preview Days 2-3 times an academic year.
• 2016 – Georgia State University – “Maker Space” steering committee

Grants

• 2022 – Student Research Assistant Grant – Visual Communications Design Explorations for UWG Art Program
• 2022 – Student Research Assistant Grant – Placing UWG: Developing Building Blocks for a Mixed Reality Tour of Historic UWG – Visual Design
• 2021 – Tech Fee Grant – Graphics and Print Lab Assistant
• 2021 – Tech Fee Grant – Cameras and Lighting Equipment