Faculty
Margo Halverson
Graphic Design Program Chair
Professor of Graphic Design
Margo was sole proprietor/designer of Halverson Design from 1983–1998 and is co-owner of
Alice Design Communication 1998–present. Her love of words together with the narrative power of the photographic image led her to the world of typography and graphic design. She received her BFA and MFA in photography from Arizona State University where, post-graduation, she studied graphic design with Rob Roy Kelly. She taught graphic design at ASU; was an art director for Morgan & Company, Phoenix, AZ; and a designer at IBM, Boca Raton, FL prior to moving to Maine. She is co-founder of
DesignInquiry and has been a Visiting Instructor at UMO and Guest Critic at RISD. She grew up in North Dakota and, after moving to the east from Arizona, still misses living in grids. Design awards include: American Association of Museums, New England Museum Association, Communication Arts, Print Magazine, Print Casebooks, American Corporate Identity, Potlatch Paper Design Award of Excellence, Beckett Paper Letterhead Design, Mohawk Paper, Graphis Typography.
Margo conducts classes such as Two-Dimensional Design (foundation), Expressive Narratives (Media Collective foundation), Design–Typography & Image, Design–Form & Meaning, Information Design, and Jr. Design Studio
Charles Melcher
Associate Professor of Graphic Design
Charles studied graphic design at Yale University School of Art to broaden and amplify his experience in making ideas come to life in visual form. His first professional connection to communication comes from teaching creative writing since 1991 while he exhibited his photography nationally and internationally. He received his BFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art, his MFA in graphic design from Yale. Charles continues to do commercial and personal photography, teach writing, and together with Margo raise Jack and Cora, now astoundingly busy and independent kids who mostly need chauffeurs and cooks. Charles has work featured in Photographers Gallery, London; Museum of Modern Art, NYC, NY; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ; Boston Public Library Department of Prints, Boston, MA; The Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME. Charles is co-owner of
Alice Design Communication 1989–present.
Charles teaches classes in the First-Year Service Learning classes and Foundation Digital Imaging, 2D Design, Intro to Drawing, Text in the Environment, Sr. Design Studio, and Sr. Thesis Independent Projects.
Mark Jamra
Associate Professor of Graphic Design
Mark is a type designer, typographic designer and founder of
TypeCulture, a digital type foundry and academic resource. He has designed and produced typefaces for over 25 years, and has also created short documentary videos and collaborated on projects with Alice Design Communication, the design studio founded by Margo Halverson and Charles Melcher. His lettering and typefaces have been shown in numerous exhibitions and have received awards from the Type Directors Club and the Association Typographique Internationale. Mark graduated with a BFA from Kent State University and completed his graduate studies in 1983 at the School of Design in Basel, Switzerland. He has lectured, conducted workshops and taught graphic design, typography, letterform design and type history at colleges in the U.S. and Germany. He has also been a typographic consultant to the Hewlett-Packard Research Laboratories in Bristol, England, and for URW Software & Type GmbH in Hamburg, Germany.
Mark teaches Two-Dimensional Design (foundation), Advanced Letterform Studies, Advanced Typographic Design, Information Design, Visual Identity Systems, and Short Documentary Video.
George LaRou
New Media Program Chair
Professor of New Media and Foundation
MFA, California Institute of the Arts, Wasserman Scholarship. BFAs in Photography and Graphic Design, Portland School of Art. BA, University of Southern Maine. Guest Critic/Lecturer; Yale University - Graduate Program in Graphic Design, Jan Van Eyck Academie, Center for Creative Studies, Fabrica, University of Southern Maine. Significant web awards/collections: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Permanent Archive, Communication Arts Web 100, Macromedia Media Site of the Day (four times), Communication Arts site of the Week, High Five, Digital Threads, Web Art Exhibitions: Fuse 98, theremediproject.com, Fabrica's Balance and Annex projects, Born Magazine. Web Clients: Timberland, walkerart.org, colorsmagazine.com, MTV online,shockwave.com. Professional Print Publications: 1999 Web Graphics Now, Bis, Netherlands 1999 Internet Design Project, Creative Reviews, London. 1999 Hot Screen, Tawian. 1993-1996 American Center for Design 100 Annuals, Typography Now vol. 2, Eye Magazine, Metropolis, I.D., Print Magazine. Published: Road Side Culture, The Herb Lubalin Center at The Cooper Union. Gallery Exhibitions 1990-2004: American Center for Design 100 Show (three times), The Cooper Union, University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtinaw College, MECA ICA.
George teaches a range of classes including: Digital Imaging, 2-D Animation, Web Design, Interactive Media, Media Web Seminar, and New Media Open Studio.
Samantha Haedrich
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
Samantha Haedrich runs an independent design practice in Portland and works on books, branding, and information graphics. Recent projects include the design of Bringing the World Into Culture for the University Press Antwerp and the graphic identity and website for Wild Alpine, a mountain guiding service in Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Samantha is also an ongoing contributor to the design of Fitwits, a collaborative research project of Carnegie Mellon University and UPMC Saint Margaret Family Health Centers, that addresses childhood obesity. Samantha holds an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale School of Art and a BFA in Communication Design from Carnegie Mellon University. She has also studied abroad at the Schule for Gestaltung in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Samantha teaches Design Workshop, Visual Identity and Information Design.
Rafael Baeza
Adjunct Associate Professor Art History + Graphic Design
Rafi returns to Maine after studying and working in both San Francisco and Miami. He brings more than ten years of visual branding experience and currently runs New Knowledge Design. Rafi worked as a senior designer for the FedEx account at Landor Associates SF. His experience encompasses corporate identity systems, print graphics, packaging and environmental programs. He has developed extensive corporate identity programs and packaging for clients such as FedEx, Sears, Charles Schwab, Florida Grand Opera, BP, and H&R Block.
Rafi attended the California College of the Arts where he graduated with highest distinction in Graphic Design. He has previous degrees from Bowdoin College in Neuroscience and South Asian Studies. Rafi has guest-lectured at the California College of the Arts and the Art Academy of San Francisco. His work has appeared in Print Magazine, American Corporate Identity, and Communication Arts. He recently was the Gold Metal winner for AIGA Xposed 2008.
Rafi teaches Design Issues + History and the Art of Politics.
Beth Taylor
Adjunct Professor Graphic Design
Beth is a designer, artist, and educator. She use design to promote understanding and further ideas. She believes in research, in making, in the fluidity of learning and educating. She grew up on Martha's Vineyard and now lives in Portland, Maine. She completed an MFA in Graphic Design at Maryland Institute College of Art in 2011, a BFA in Graphic Design at Maine College of Art in 2008, and a BA in Social Science and Visual Art at Bennington College in 2003. She is heavily influenced by eighties-era portrayals of young girls with fiery red hair and a costume that always included kneesocks. She believes in having the will to make things happen and enjoy doing them. Have the courage to try. Trust.
Beth teaches Publishing Lab
