Academic
Leadership
| 2022— | Dean, Division of Architecture + Design | Rhode Island School of Design |
Position Summary & Highlights:
- Four year interim appointment starting July 1, 2022
- Operational oversight of seven academic departments: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Architecture, Furniture Design, Industrial Design, Graphic Design and Apparel Design; as well as RISD oversight of the Brown/RISD Masters of Design Engineering program
- Assure academic excellence through approval of courses, grants and program materials
- Evaluate faculty dossiers and make recommendations for reappointment, critical review, and promotion
- Co-managed Department of Architecture, including hiring part-time faculty, staff and transitioned department out of receivership
- Modeled co-leadership structure for Department of Industrial Design and Interior Architecture
- Oversaw divisional implementation of college-wide Social Equity and Inclusion requirement for each undergraduate program
- Worked with deans and Provost on undergraduate credit reduction and faculty teaching reduction with related academic and budget implications
- Participate in fundraising events with Institutional Engagement
- Evaluate capital and operating budget requests
- Participated in the two leadership development programs (Academic Impressions, AICU Mass/RI)
Committees
- Search Committees for Provost; Asst. Dean of Brown/RISD Programs and Program Manager; Chief Marketing Officer
- Financial Optimization Committee
- Budget Finance Committee
- Lifelong learning advisory committee
- Co-Chair, Brown/RISD Programs cross-institutional committee
| 2014–17, 2018–19 | Department Head, Graphic Design | Rhode Island School of Design |
Highlights from 4 years:
- Researched, scripted and implemented new undergraduate core curriculum
- Led faculty rewrite of required three-semester typography sequence
- Supervised three staff members
- Oversaw hiring of five full-time faculty, four term faculty and two staff
- Initiated 1-credit workshop format for College
- Initiated and led renovations to graduate studio workspace
- Initiated and led creation of exhibition/event space for Department
- Commissioned and oversaw schematic designs for student and faculty spaces
- Staffed 110 courses/year; Added 15+ new electives into curriculum
- Oversaw NASAD accreditation process for BFA Program
- Scripted 2018 Academic Program Review response
- Twice oversaw launch of Department website, risd.gd
- Garnered press and fostered substantial social media following
- Led effort to generate faculty departmental decision-making protocols
Faculty Appointments
| 2016– | Rhode Island School of Design, Associate Professor |
| 2012–16 | Rhode Island School of Design, Assistant Professor |
| 2006–12 | Rhode Island School of Design, Critic |
| 2011–12 | University of Connecticut, Adjunct Faculty |
Courses
| Electives | Design & Politics, The Web & Democracy, HTML Output, Call for Proposals, Graduate Open Research |
| Workshops | Web Programming, Digital Bits, Expressive Form with HTML/CSS, Serendipity in the Digital Library, Data-Driven Design |
| Core courses | Graduate Typography 1, Typography 1 & 3, Senior Degree Project, Graduate Studio 1, Graduate Thesis 2, Design Studio 1, 2 & 4, Form & Communication, Visual Systems, Making Meaning, Relational Design |
Committees
| Academic Policies; Brown/RISD Dual Degree Oversight Committee; RISD Research Committee; Search Committees for Dept. of Furniture, Registrar, RISD Design Director and Creative Director |
Education
| 2004 | MFA in Graphic Design, Yale University School of Art |
| 1995 | BA in Journalism (Visual Communication), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Professional
The Design Office
| 2007–21 | Founder and Director of a work and project space for designers in downtown Providence |
- Co-working space housing 70+ independent practitioners since inception
- Shared working library
- Publisher & distributor of projects
- Post-graduate fellowship program
- BIPOC fellowship program
- Open-source software projects
- Public events and workshops
- Support for member projects & critiques
- Archived at thedesignoffice.org
- Closed on July 1, 2021. More
Custom Flow Solutions
| 2009–12 | Partner and Designer for company designing automated charts and graphs for media companies including Thomson Reuters and The New York Times |
John Caserta Design
| 2005–12 | Principal of a solo design practice focusing on information design and websites for new media; Providence, R.I. |
| Clients: Rockefeller Foundation, Antenna International, Creative Time, Max Protetch Gallery, Canary Project, American Battle Monuments Commission, Thomson Reuters, Watson Institute at Brown University, The New York Times, Macromedia/Adobe, Visa USA |
Early career
| 2000–01 | Quokka Sports, Creative Director |
| 1996–99 | Chicago Tribune, Design Director, Interactive News |
| 1995–96 | Atlanta Journal-Constitution, News Graphics Staff |
Bibliography
Authored
| 2021 | Eye on Design “What Leading Designers, Educators, and Writers Want to See in 2021.” January 2021. |
| 2020 | Reimagining Elections.” Video essay for Common Cause R.I. |
| 2018 | Talk Listen Door. with Schumann, Verity, eds. The Design Office |
| 2017 | “Dear Class of 2017,” Design Observer. |
| 2017 | “Question the Classroom.” Design & Culture. Vol 4, #1 |
| 2016 | “Kingdoms of God” with L. Widder. Manifest #2 |
| 2015 | “Which 2016 Candidate Has the Worst Logo?” Politico |
| 2015 | “Thesis Book Project.” Design Observer |
| 2015 | Two browser-based images, Printed Web #3 |
| 2014 | “Documentary Icons.” Icons and essay for The Noun Project |
| 2014 | “The iPhone is the new Model-T.” Essay for AIGA.org |
| 2013 | “Insights per Minute: On Obfuscation,” Design Observer |
| 2012 | “Can one size fit all?” The Noun Project blog |
| 2010 | “Instructions,” and “Khmer Rouge.” The Encyclopedia Project. Vol. 2, F–K |
| 2010 | Ira Rakatansky: As Modern As Tomorrow. with Lynnette Widder, eds. William Stout Publishers |
| 2009 | “It’s a Jungle Out There: What do Meat Labels Mean?” Meatpaper, Issue Six |
| 2007 | “Keys.” Tuesday: An Art Project. Issue 1:2 |
| 2007 | “Pig slaughter, Montenero Val Cocchiara.” Meatpaper, Issue Zero |
| 2004 | “Black and White, then, Color.” Multi-purpose. Winterhouse Editions |
| 1999 | “Consistency vs. Variety.” Design. Vol 71 |
| 1999 | “Online Newspapers.” Design. Vol 70 |
Quoted / Cited
| 2022 | Boston Globe “Graphic design professors unimpressed by R.I. license plate choices” |
| 2022 | Washington Post “A Missouri county’s ‘cluttered’ seal was ridiculed online. It prompted a global search for a replacement.” |
| 2021 | Eye on Design “Many of the Design Community’s Gathering Places Shuttered During the Pandemic. What Did We Lose?” July 2021. |
| 2021 | Noun Project Blog “Creator Spotlight: John Caserta”. June 2021. |
| 2021 | Mold “Graphic Design and Local Food Ecologies”. March 2021. |
| 2021 | Eye on Design “How Polished Branding is Shaping a New Generation of Public Parks”. February 2021. |
| 2020 | Communication Arts “Redesigning Creative Workspaces”. March 2020. |
| 2019 | Fast Company “Are traditional design degrees still relevant?” |
| 2019 | Eye on Design Design Education is Moving Toward Specialization—Can Colleges Keep Up? |
| 2019 | Providence Journal “…plan to replace ‘wave’ license plates” |
| 2019 | Texas Monthly The Texanist Column |
| 2018 | Eye on Design An Idealistic Answer to Faceless, Rent-a-space Co-working |
| 2018 | Christian Science Monitor The story behind the 2018 Winter Olympics emblem |
| 2017 | risd.edu Textiles Revolution Looms Large |
| 2017 | AirBnB Design. “Modern Pictograms for Lottie.” Salih Abdul-Karim |
| 2017 | Noun Project blog. “Icons in Motion”. Modern Pictograms |
| 2017 | Scratching the Surface podcast (No. 36). Interview Jarrett Fuller |
| 2017 | Texas Standard. “New NBA Team Logo Spurs Critiques.” Michael Marks |
| 2016 | Billboard. Graphic Design Experts Weigh In on Pandora’s New Logo” Lyndsey Havens |
| 2016 | Eye on Design. “Design in 2016 Should’ve Been…” Madeleine Morley |
| 2016 | Eye on Design. “How Does RISD Teach Graphic Design…” Katie Chang |
| 2016 | Linux Insider. “Google’s New Fonts Chip Away at Written Language Barriers.” John P. Mello Jr. |
| 2016 | Graphic Magazine. “Notices” and RISD GD part of alumni profile |
| 2016 | “Physical and digital spaces of daily interaction.” Interview with Jonathan Pierini |
| 2016 | Associated Press. “Designers weigh in on Rhode Island’s new logo?” Michelle Smith |
| 2016 | Providence Journal. “Local designers say logo gave wrong message” Mark Patinkin |
| 2015 | ThinkProgress. “Why Did The ‘Peace For Paris’ Image Go Viral?” |
| 2015 | Boston Globe. “A slow climb back for Providence” (The Design Office) |
| 2015 | Through Process. “Episode 25: Go Be Brave: With L. Hitchcock & J. Caserta” |
| 2015 | Quipsologies. “Modern Pictograms” website |
| 2014 | Box it up. “Letterboxes” Basheer Graphic Books, Singapore |
| 2014 | Deskmag. “Coworking in Providence, Rhode Island” Amanda Gray |
| 2014 | Providence Phoenix. “DesignWeekRI” Philip Eil |
| 2014 | Type Object. Barbara Brownie. Included “Spatial Typography” and “Letterboxes” |
| 2014 | Providence Phoenix. “Let’s work together” Philip Eil |
| 2013 | Bauwelt. Journal Issue 20.13 “Ira Rakatansky” review |
| 2012 | Quipsologies. “Locally Made” |
| 2013 | Providence Phoenix. “Locally Made” Philip Eil |
| 2013 | Providence Phoenix. “What to do with the Superman building?” Philip Eil |
| 2013 | Pictos. “Modern Pictograms.” Index Books, Barcelona |
| 2012 | Downtown Providence. “Independent Design at 204 Westminster” |
| 2012 | The Next Web. “This new typeface was made just for interface designers” |
| 2012 | Quipsologies. “Modern Pictograms” |
| 2012 | Apartment Therapy. “The Design Office’s Vintage Modern Workspace” |
| 2012 | Rising in the East: Contemporary New Towns in Asia. Newtown Publishers |
| 2011 | Quipsologies. “Flatfile” |
| 2011 | Architect’s Newspaper. “Life Drawing”. Review of Rakatansky book |
| 2011 | Quipsologies. “Fall Leaves” |
| 2011 | GoLocalProv. “The Design Office: RI’s Creative Collaborative” |
| 2010 | Apartment Therapy. “Rakatansky’s Mid-Century Modern Masterpiece” |
| 2010 | Architecture Research Quarterly. “Books Received” |
| 2010 | Apartment Therapy. “New Book, Ira Rakatansky” |
| 2010 | ReadyMade. “As Modern As Tomorrow” |
| 2010 | 3D Typography. Mark Batty Publisher. “Letterboxes” |
| 2010 | idN Magazine. Eco-Graphics Issue. “Letterboxes” |
| 2010 | Providence Journal. “Still Modern at 90” |
| 2010 | San Francisco Chronicle. “Providential Find” |
| 2009 | Apartment Therapy. “Letterboxes by The Design Office” |
| 2009 | Coudal Partners Blog. “Case Study: John Caserta” |
| 2008 | Providence Business News. “R.I. artist Recognized for Map of WWII invasion” |
| 2008 | Providence Business News. “Design Community is Growing in Ocean State” |
| 2003 | Digit. “Smart Art” |
| 2002 | Macromedia Showcase: Flash Interface Design. Macromedia Press |
| 2002 | eDesign. “XML in Flash.” Profile of work from Quokka Sports |
| 2001 | Communication Arts. “Quokka Sports Network, Nothing But Net” |
| 2001 | Color Harmony for the Web. Rockport Publishers |
| 2000 | The New York Times. “Motion Without Sickness: Web Animation Comes of Age.” |
| 1997 | Redesigning Print for the Web. Hayden Books |
Public Lectures / Panels / Juries
| 2015–21 | Providence Public Library, D.B. Updike Prize, juror |
| 2020 | Common Cause R.I., “Reimagining Elections”, panel |
| 2020 | Youth Arts Movement, Zoom autobiographical lecture |
| 2020 | Design × RI “Design Week”, portfolio reviewer |
| 2019 | XXXI NYC, Web to Print workshop and discussion |
| 2019 | Cooper Hewitt, “Maximizing the platform: Publishing strategies for discoverability and agility” |
| 2018 | RISD NY Alumni Club, “Design & Politics” |
| 2017 | Yale Odds & Ends Book Fair, “Bindery.js: Web to Book” |
| 2017 | DesignWeekRI, “Creating Collaborative Community” lunchtime conversation |
| 2017 | Design × RI Hall of Fame Award, juror |
| 2016 | NCMPR (Comm College Marketing/PR) Dist. 1 Keynote: “Growing in all directions” |
| 2016 | AIGA NY, “Designing the Future of Design Education” panel |
| 2016 | “Make it Yours” lecture with Design Office members, R.I. Commerce Corporation |
| 2015–17 | National Screening Committee, Design, Fulbright-Hays Program, U.S. Dept. of State |
| 2015 | AIGA Biannual Design Conference, “Browser to Book” lecture & panel |
| 2015 | University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, lecture of recent work |
| 2015 | University of Delaware, Visiting Designers lecture |
| 2015 | RISD, “Artisan-Toolmaker” panel |
| 2015 | California College of the Arts, “Browser as Tool” lecture |
| 2014 | DesignWeekRI, “Organizational Systems” lecture and panel |
| 2014 | RISD Museum, “Critical Encounters: Design & Education” panel. Moderator |
| 2013 | Brown University Library Digital Scholarship Lecture Series, “Data-Driven Design Systems for the Web” |
| 2013 | AIGA Rhode Island, “Making of Modern Pictograms” lecture |
| 2013 | RISD “Intersection of Design and Manufacturing” panel |
| 2013 | RISD Museum, “Pedagogies Past/Present/Future” panel |
| 2013 | Michigan State University, “Visiting Scholars Lecture Series” |
| 2012 | RISD Research Colloquium, “Teaching Digital” lecture |
| 2012 | WordCamp Providence, “Wordpress for Teachers” lecture |
| 2012 | RISD Museum of Art, “Designers on Design” lecture |
| 2012 | Harvard GSD, “GSD Talks: Ira Rakatansky” panel |
| 2011 | A Better World by Design. Moderator, “Graphics that Inspire” panel |
| 2011 | Design Innovation Grant, RI State Council for the Arts. Judge |
| 2011 | Pecha Kucha, Providence. “Office Furniture” |
| 2010 | RISD Alumni Lecture Series with Ira Rakatansky |
| 2010 | Providence Preservation Society. “20th Century Buildings of Providence” panel |
| 2010 | Queens College, CUNY. “Vernacular Architecture of the Alto Molise” |
| 2010 | Pecha Kucha, Providence. “Favorite Photographs of Ira Rakatansky Buildings” |
| 2005 | Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. “Works in Progress” |
| 2004 | The American Press Institute. Panelist, “Assessing Online Story Design” |
| 2003 | AltPick Awards. The Alternative Pick’s Awards for New Media Design. Judge |
| 2002–04 | SNDies. Society for News Design’s monthly and annual competition. Judge |
| 2001,02 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Speaker, “Multimedia Bootcamp” |
| 1999 | University of California, Berkeley. Panelist, “Online Journalism” |
| 1998 | The Poynter Institute. Speaker, “Visual Edge” photography conference |
| 1997,98 | Society for News Design’s annual conference. Speaker and panelist |
| 1997 | AIGA Biannual Design Conference. “The Future of News” lecture & panel |
| 1994–97 | NPPA Electronic Photojournalism Workshop |
Academic service / External class visits
| 2024 | Qatar University, authored BFA in Graphic Design curriculum |
| 2023 | VCUQatar class lecture/conversation |
| 2023 | Parsons Communication Design, Senior Project critic |
| 2021 | Program reviewer for Drexel Graphic Design BS Program |
| 2020 | Program reviewer for FIT Graphic Design BFA Program |
| 2020 | Parsons Communication Design, Senior Project critic |
| 2017 | Tama Art University, Exchange Program visit and lecture |
| 2017 | N.C. State class lecture & critique, “Graduate Seminar” |
| 2017 | CalArts class lecture & critique, “Design Entrepreneurship” |
| 2017 | Review of book manuscript for Fairchild Books (Cezzar) |
| 2016 | Review of book manuscript for Focal Press/Routledge |
| 2016 | Program Reviewer for Department of Design, Lebanese American University |
| 2015 | Met School Providence, Class visit |
| 2015 | Lecture to RISD Museum Docents, Faculty Biennial |
| 2015 | Univ. of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Visiting Critic, Senior Degree Project |
| 2015 | Univ. of California at Davis, Class visit |
| 2015 | Program Reviewer for BFA Graphic Design Program, California College of the Arts |
| 2014 | Boston University, Visiting Critic, Junior Reviews |
| 2013 | Brown University Creative Scholars Group, Ian Gonsher adviser |
| 2013 | Boston Architectural College, “Proposals and Presentations” class talk |
| 2013 | RISD Painting Department: Junior Year Reviews, Holly Hughes |
| 2013 | RISD Advanced Architecture Studio: Computing Drawing, Carl Lostritto |
| 2012 | Univ. of Connecticut, Visiting Critic, Senior Degree Project |
| 2012 | Boston University, Visiting Critic, Senior Degree Project |
| 2010,11 | Roger Williams University. Professional Practice Lecture |
| 2009 | Clark University. Presentation of my work |
Grants / Awards / Recognition
| 2018 | AIGA 50 Books, 50 Covers, Talk, Listen, Door w/The Design Office. |
| 2012,14 | RISD Professional Development Fund |
| 2014 | Print Regional Design Annual. Winner, “Locally Made” |
| 2014 | R.I. State Council for the Arts. Winner, “Design Innovation Grant” |
| 2014 | Communication Arts Typography Annual 4. Winner, “Locally Made” |
| 2013 | AIGA Best of New England. Winner, “Poster & Bookmarks” |
| 2012 | Providence Revolving Fund Storefront Grant |
| 2007,11 | RISD Part-time Faculty Association Technical Development Grant |
| 2008 | Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts with l. widder & Risd |
| 2008 | Society for News Design Malofiej Awards. Best of Show, “Sector Snapshot” |
| 2004 | AIGA 50 Books/50 covers. Winner. Multi-purpose |
| 2004 | J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Fellowship in the Arts |
| 2004 | Institute of International Education. Miguel Vinciquerra Fellowship for Research |
| 2003 | Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. Winner |
| 2001 | Communication Arts Interactive Design Annual 7. Winner, Information Design |
| 2001 | Flash Film Festival, New York. Winner, technical merit, “NCAA Brackets” |
| 1998 | How Magazine, International Design Annual. Merit award for multimedia |
| 1997 | Editor & Publisher. Best Overall News Site, “Chicago Tribune” |
| 1997 | Editor & Publisher. Best Design, “Lost Mariners” |
| 1997 | Newspaper Association of America. Best Online Newspaper, “Chicago Tribune” |
| 1997 | The Society for News Design. Winner, Page Design |
| 1995 | UNC-Chapel Hill. Stuart Sechriest Award for the top graduate in Visual Journalism |
Group Exhibitions
| 2017 | AIGA Rhode Island, “SeeUs” |
| 2016 | RISD Expose, “Uncommissioned: Recent works from The Design Office” |
| 2015 | Providence Preservation Society. “Most Endangered Properties 20th Anniv.” |
| 2015 | RISD Architecture Gallery. “Six Lines” |
| 2009–18 | RISD Faculty Biennial, RISD Museum |
| 2011,12 | Providence Preservation Society. “Most Endangered Properties” |
| 2012 | Mota Italic Gallery. “New Vintage Digital Vernacular Letters” |
| 2007–11 | AS220, Providence. Photo Lottery Biennial |
| 2007 | Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR. “Among Us and Curious” |
| 2007 | Missy McLamb Gallery, Pittsboro, NC. “Progeny” |
| 2005 | Town Square Meeting Hall, Montenero, Italy. “Untitled Art Show” |
| 2004 | S.F. Center for the Book. “Reading the Future: Experimental Books from Yale” |
| 2004 | “Multi-purpose,” Graphic Design MFA Exhibit, New Haven, CT |
Affiliations
| 2020– | Board of Directors, DownCity Design (Providence) |
| 2016–19 | Member of Common Field |
| 2015–19 | AIGA Rhode Island Advisory Board |
| 2012– | Member of AIGA |
| Citizen of Italy & USA |