Assistant Professor Mary Tuthill

I have taught at Ivy Tech Community College in the Visual Communications Department since the Fall 2000 semester. I am also on the Visual Technology Advisory Committee at Ivy Tech and a member of the Michiana Ad Club.

As well as teaching graphic design, I have worked professionally as an Art Director and graphic designer and continue to do freelance and pro bono work. My professional experience has been an asset in teaching graphic design students how to design creative, commercially viable and technically accurate work that will appeal to a variety of target markets. As a professional graphic designer, I am able to pass on my knowledge to students so they are aware of on-the-job expectations, current industry standards and correct preparation of their work for print reproduction.

When teaching I reinforce the building blocks of the curriculum, design principles and typography, while students advance their knowledge of graphic design and computer software. In Graphic Design, I stress conceptual development based on design and layout principles and advertising strategy research so students stretch their creative potential before committing to a final design solution. I provide students with lectures, professional examples, hands-on exercises, projects, input through individual and group critiques, additional resources and field trips to printers and graphic trades shows.

I believe the more knowledge you have, the more creative resources you have. I am continually researching all aspects of graphic design for print media including typography, color, prepress and printing, marketing and page layout. I keep up-to-date on page layout and image-making software (QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop). I have spent much time researching the history of Graphic Design and impart this knowledge to students.