Raul Pena
Graphic Designer, Art Director
Chicago, IL, USAI’m a graphic designer and educator, based in Grand Rapids, MI, working with clients throughout the U.S.
In 2016, I joined the faculty at Grand Valley State University as an assistant professor and teach beginning through advanced courses in Typography and Graphic Design. My research is focused on the exploration of confluences between graphic design and music.
My work for the arts and culture industries has been published by Farrar Straus and Giroux, S. Fischer Verlag in Germany, Yep Roc Records and Northwestern University, among others.
Between 2012 and 2015, I was part of amazing creative teams in Chicago, contributing to the creation of intuitive and beautiful digital experiences for Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. From 2003 to 2009, I was part of the award-winning Marketing & Graphics team at Zingerman’s, a company once named “the coolest small company in America” by Inc. Magazine.
I am currently available for freelance projects. Get in touch!
In 2016, I joined the faculty at Grand Valley State University as an assistant professor and teach beginning through advanced courses in Typography and Graphic Design. My research is focused on the exploration of confluences between graphic design and music.
My work for the arts and culture industries has been published by Farrar Straus and Giroux, S. Fischer Verlag in Germany, Yep Roc Records and Northwestern University, among others.
Between 2012 and 2015, I was part of amazing creative teams in Chicago, contributing to the creation of intuitive and beautiful digital experiences for Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. From 2003 to 2009, I was part of the award-winning Marketing & Graphics team at Zingerman’s, a company once named “the coolest small company in America” by Inc. Magazine.
I am currently available for freelance projects. Get in touch!
Work Experience
Grand Valley State University
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
Teaching introductory to advanced courses in Graphic Design and Typography. Other responsibilities include course development, academic advising, scholarly activity/research, and service contributions to the department.
August 2016
- April 2020
Allendale, Michigan, United States
Self-Employed
Freelance Graphic Designer
Designer working with small to mid-size businesses, non-profit organizations, clients in the arts & culture, music, and education industries. Specializing in brand identity and collateral, print and web design, visual and user interface design, and WordPress theme customization. Clients have included Northwestern University, Girls Who Code, Ithaca College, Tift Merritt, S. Fischer Verlag (Germany), The Ann Arbor Film Festival, Bella Voce, Magnanimous Media, Prepfoleo, among others.
June 2009
- Present
Chicago, United States
Razorfish
Senior Designer
Worked, as part of a team, on a large digital campaign for Motorola.
Concept Development / Visual Design / Branding / Digital Banner Design (motion and static) for desktop and mobile screens.
Concept Development / Visual Design / Branding / Digital Banner Design (motion and static) for desktop and mobile screens.
September 2014
- November 2014
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Razorfish
Senior Designer
Worked, as part of a team, on the design of a Radioshack's website.
Concept Development / Visual Design / Branding / Desktop & Mobile Web Design / User Interface Design
Concept Development / Visual Design / Branding / Desktop & Mobile Web Design / User Interface Design
April 2014
- June 2014
Chicago, Illinois, United States
SapientNitro
Senior Designer
Worked as a visual designer, and as part of a team, in a large Web Design project for Hyatt Hotels. Visual Design / User Interface Design / Branding
July 2012
- September 2012
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Street Level Youth Media
Contract Instructor
Taught a youth workshop (ages 8–14). The course focused on music visualization as an introduction to basic elements of graphic design.
July 2012
- July 2012
Chicago, Illinois, United States
University Of Illinois At Chicago
Instructor (Graduate Assistantship)
Taught an introductory course in Graphic Design.
August 2011
- May 2012
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Washtenaw Community College
Graphic Design Instructor
Taught an introductory course in Graphic Design and an introductory class to Adobe Illustrator.
January 2010
- July 2010
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Zingerman’s
Graphic Designer
Was Responsible for conceptualization, design direction and production of a wide variety of projects, ranging from newsletters and catalogs to packaging and illustration. Prepared graphics for print. Worked directly with printers. Designed and hand-coded websites using XHTM/CSS.
December 2003
- June 2009
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Design Contractor
Designed the organization’s logo and the promotional material for the 45th and the 46th festivals.
2006
- 2007
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Education
University Of Illinois At Chicago
MFA Graphic Design
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Eastern Michigan University
BFA Graphic Design
Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States
Languages
English (Fluent),
Spanish (Native),
Awards
University Of Illinois At Chicago
First Year Graduate Tuition Waiver
2010
University Of Illinois At Chicago
Second Year Graduate Teaching Assistantship
2011
Regional Addy Awards (Detroit)
Silver Addy in the color brochure category
2007
AIGA Detroit
DESIGN RE:VIEW 2007 — Award of Merit for Ann Arbor Film Festival Logo
2007
Eastern Michigan University
2006 Fine Arts Exhibit — First Place Award
2006
Skills
Adobe XD,
Branding,
CSS,
HTML,
Illustrator,
Indesign,
Photoshop,
Print,
Typography,
UI Desing,
Visual Design,
Web Design,
WordPress,