Nicole (Nikki) Arnell

Associate Professor of Graphic Design

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Education

• M.F.A. Graphic Design, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
• B.A. Studio Art (Graphic Design) and Journalism (Advertising, Copywriting), Psychology Minor, Indiana University, Bloomington
• FULL CV at http://www.nikkiarnell.com/cv.html

Teaching Specialties

• Graphic Design
• Typography
• Page Layout
• Advertising
• User Interface and Icons
• Communications
• Branding
• Strategic Design
• Pre-Press
• History of Graphic Design

Research Interests

• Handmade elements in graphic design (merging traditional disciplines with digital)
• How audience reception affects/completes artwork
• Positive/Negative social effects of advertising
• History of graphic design
  • Illuminated Manuscripts
  • Art Nouveau
  • High Modernism and Advertising of mid-20th Century
  • Postmodernism, especially of late 1970s - late 1990s

Affiliations

• AIGA - Education Co-Direction AIGA-Memphis
• AAF - guest speaker for multiple chapters across the country

Links of Interests

Coursework Link: www.nikkiarnell.net

Curriculum Vitae

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Biography

An obsession with the communicative aspect of art led Nikki Arnell first to advertising. After acquiring a degree at Indiana University with a double major in Studio Art and Journalism, she transplanted to the other side of the country. In Denver, Colorado, she began a decade in the fast-paced and exciting world of advertising. From design for local shops to art direction for mega-brands like Procter & Gamble and Coors Brewing Company, this time provided experiential education and awards.

However, an unexpected teaching job while freelancing changed her desired career path and so she returned to school to earn a Master of Fine Arts. At Colorado State University as both a student and a teacher, traditional fine arts and art theory formed another dimension to the communication of her art. Juried art exhibition equaled a profitable commercial sell. Her graphic design shuffled out of the expected computer formula and instead, mixed disciplines and technologies and experimented in the levels of communication per context.

Immediately after receiving the degree, Ms. Arnell took a faculty position with Arkansas State University's Art Department where she plans to continue pushing the expected in graphic design by balancing the commercial sell and gallery aesthetic.