HEATHER DORSEY, MFA

I've always loved working with my hands. As a child, I dabbled with oddities found around my house to create abstract three-dimensional art. I created poetic collages from newspaper and magazine clippings. My parents eventually armed me with a 35mm camera and I later found myself tucked away in my high school darkroom discovering my love for imagery. I won awards for my photography and received a scholarship making it possible to attend the School of Design's graphic design program.

I followed my passion for the arts and earned a BS in Graphic Design from the School of Design. Immediately after undergraduate school, my professional career began in the art mecca of New York City where I worked as a wide-eyed freelance graphic designer, creating posters and brand identities mainly for performing artists and small businesses. Subsequently, I returned to upstate New York to design graphics for custom built motorcycles. This eventually led me to the sign industry and to graduate school where I earned an MFA in Graphic Design from Miami International University of Art and Design. Shortly after, I became the lead designer and co-owner and founder of Dorsey & Jones Design Group, a design firm offering services in signage, branding, web and print design.

Currently, I am a Curriculum Developer and Design Instructor for the digital art and design department at the State University of New York. I began developing courses for Empire State College in 2010, and teaching introductory and advanced level digital art and design courses in 2011. I am also the owner of an independent design studio where I focus on building brand recognition for my clients through extraordinary design solutions to improve clients’ visual presence in the marketplace.

My working class background is what led me to develop a strong principled and moral approach to design. I recognize that design can be a profound force for positive change, which is why my work and academic interests focus on sustainability, ethical design practices, and progressive social change. My research and creative interests continue to converge on emerging media art, design software instruction, publication design, furthering ethical design practices within and through the arts, and methods for facilitating others in their path to fulfilling careers within the design field.