Lucille Tenazas, USA

AGI member since 1998

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Lucille Tenazas is an educator and graphic designer based in New York and San Francisco. She is the Henry Wolf Professor of Communication Design in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons School of Design in New York. She established Tenazas Design in San Francisco in 1985, working on identity systems and communication design projects for cultural and non-profit organizations. Her work is at the intersection of typography and linguistics, with design that reflects complex and poetic means of visual expression. Her work has been exhibited in museums, incl. a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA). Lucille was the national president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1996-98 was awarded the AIGA Medal in 2013, for her lifetime contribution to design practice and outstanding leadership in design education. She was the recipient of the National Design Award for Communication Design from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in 2002.
Originally from the Philippines, Lucille is an authority in the evolving state of design education and has conducted workshops throughout the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Design work by Lucille Tenazas


    Lucille Tenazas, USA (1998)

    Lucille Tenazas is an educator and graphic designer based in New York and San Francisco. She is the Henry Wolf Professor of Communication Design in the School of Art, Media...

    Read full biography
    Lucille Tenazas, USA (1998)

    Lucille Tenazas is an educator and graphic designer based in New York and San Francisco. She is the Henry Wolf Professor of Communication Design in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons School of Design in New York. She established Tenazas Design in San Francisco in 1985, working on identity systems and communication design projects for cultural and non-profit organizations. Her work is at the intersection of typography and linguistics, with design that reflects complex and poetic means of visual expression. Her work has been exhibited in museums, incl. a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA). Lucille was the national president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1996-98 was awarded the AIGA Medal in 2013, for her lifetime contribution to design practice and outstanding leadership in design education. She was the recipient of the National Design Award for Communication Design from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in 2002.
    Originally from the Philippines, Lucille is an authority in the evolving state of design education and has conducted workshops throughout the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

    Exhibitions

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    San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

    1996

    Education

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    Henry Wolf Professor of Communication Design

    • Undergraduate,  
    • Postgraduate

    2008 – 2024

    • Parsons School of Design (USA)

    Adjunct Professor

    • Undergraduate,  
    • Postgraduate

    1985 – 2005

    • California College of the Arts (USA)

    Lucille was the founding chair of the MFA Design Program at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, a graduate program with an emphasis on form-giving, teaching, and leadership. The program was the first in the nation to include a mandatory writing component, expanding design pedagogy to include creative nonfiction writing. By developing an author’s voice, design students become aware of form and meaning to become thinking designers and visual linguists.

    Awards

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    • 2013

    AIGA

    Other Professional Activities

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    • Trustee, American Craft Council

      2017 – 2023

    • Board Member, California College of the Arts

      2021 – to the present

    • Chair of the Jury, AIGA 365: Year in Design

      2023 – present

    • Member of the Jury, AIGA 365: Year in Design

      2024 – present