About Me

Katie Krcmarik has worked as both a graphic designer and educator for the past two decades. She has worked in a variety of design positions, including in a studio, in-house for a variety of companies, and as a freelance Graphic Designer. She currently teaches and coordinates the communication design foundational courses for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She also is currently serving as the faculty creative director for Jacht, the student run ad agency. She previously taught Graphic Design at Mott Community College for eleven years as an adjunct faculty member in the Fine Arts and Social Sciences Department.

Katie most recently earned a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her thesis work explored women in graphic design history as well as the relationship between space and power. Her thesis, Hierarchical Space: How the Use of Space Creates Bias, explored the relationship of visual communication in perpetuating cultural bias. Katie earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Wayne State University in Studio Art with a concentration in Graphic Design. She completed a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from Michigan State University, focusing on instructional design. She continues to pursue professional and artistic development by taking workshops to improve her skills. She most recently has been learning to use the lathe and how to weave after her graduate studies piqued her interest in the crafts.

In her current position as an Assistant Professor of Practice and Communication Design Coordinator, Katie oversaw the development of the foundational communication design courses for the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She developed a curriculum for the courses with the assistance of colleagues and continues to refine that curriculum. The courses cover seven core areas—Typography, Layout, Audio, Video, Photo, Mobile, and Web—as well as several exploratory modules in Color Theory, Photoshop, After Effects, UX Design, and 360 Video. With her colleagues Adam Wagler and Alan Eno, she spearheaded the development of digital textbooks for the courses, including writing portions of the textbooks. Additionally, as the program coordinator, she creates the schedule for the 40 sections of the classes, including hiring adjuncts as needed and training other faculty as needed. She supervises several graduate assistants who teach for her and the student lab assistants who help staff the lab. 

he as served as the faculty creativve director for Jacht, the College's student run ad agency. In the position, she oversees the social, design, and copy teams to excute creative strategy and produce deliverables for clients. She has also had the opportunity to teach a multi-discipline exhibits course for two years that focused on students producing an exhibit that was installed in a specified location. She developed at taught to special topics courses a class in women in media history and one about bias in media.

Katie has worked as a graphic designer for the past twenty years for a variety of companies and continues to work as a graphic designer in print, web, and video as time allows. Her hand-bound thesis book won a Gold Award and a Judges Choice Award in AIGA Nebraska's 2018 Show design competition, a local Gold Addy, and was a winner in the Publication Category for the Flux Student Show. She continues to work as a freelance designer as her schedule allows focusing mainly on print and web design.

Her research and thesis during graduate school focused on women in design history, as well as how visual communications can create and reinforce bias. She has continued to research women in design history since completing the degree. She is currently researching the women who created designs as part of the poster division of the Federal Art Project. She participates in an informal group of educators from across the country interested in expanding the canon of design history started by Silas Munro and Louise Sandhaus. It’s a group dedicated to not just talking about the issue but also sharing research for feedback. She believes that a broader look at history and the definition of “good” design expands how we look at design and professional practice today. Her research on women in design history lead her to look at how bias impacts design practice. She explored how designers reinforce bias in their design decisions, especially in regards to hierarchy. While she is still trying to determine what the path forward looks like given how vital hierarchy is to accessing information, She is exploring a variety of possibilities for alternatives to the traditional design hierarchy system. She has also pursued addressing bias in design into practice at her current institution by working with three colleagues in her department along with one of the diversity trainers to develop a VR experience to help educate students about diversity and inclusion.

Her creative activity typically ties to her research interests include exploring experiential design further. She started to venture into that area while in graduate school with several installation-based pieces. Heeer installation focused on women in design history has been displayed in Michigan and South Carolina. Hr goal is to continue developing the exhibit by adding more names and including an augmented reality component to allow viewers to learn more about the women and interact with the piece more. Recently, she has been exploring a VR version of the exhibit to allow the ability to interact with it and learn more about the women featured in the exhibit. 

Previously, Katie's research interests have also included instructional design to improve student outcomes. Besides completing a Masters Degree in Educational Technology, she has also explored more deeply the role design can play in producing more effective instructional materials. She won the 2014 LAND Competition in Adjunct Category for her presentation on Rethinking the Syllabus: Setting the Stage for Success. She has also presented at the Teaching Professor Technology Conference on using storyboarding to create more effective instructional videos. Moreover, Katie explores the integration of technology into the classroom and regularly explores new avenues for incorporating it into her classroom to improve student engagement and learning outcomes. 

Katie also has a strong commitment to university and professional service. She was recently named an Adobe Education Leader. She served as the president of the Nebraska AIGA chapter and served in positions as Show Co-chair and Chair for the Nebraska chapter. She served as Director of Education for the Detroit chapter. She is currently serving on several collegee committeees including the Promotion and Tenure Committee and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is serving on a university commmittee about faculty compenstation and on the Husker Dialogues Sterring Committee. She previously served on the university-wide ITSC Committee including as the chair of the committee for twwo years. She is currently the faculty advisor for the student group, NUSAMS, a group that works to inform students on campus about human trafficking and its effects. She has performed a variety of other service-related activities for the university and the community.

In her spare time, Katie likes to read, enjoys hiking, especially in the Badlands, and is an avid baker. Her students and colleagues can attest to her love of baking and sharing the bake goods. She also regularly pursues creative outlets at the local maker space, Innovation Studio. She currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her dog, Moxie, and her cat, MrsEaves.