RJ Thompson
Assistant Professor, Graphic + Interactive Design
About RJ
Practicing Designer, Educator, and Entrepreneur
MFA, Graphic Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2011
BS, Graphic Design, California University of Pennsylvania, 2007
AD, Specialized Technology in Visual Communications, Intl. Academy of Design & Technology, 2004
RJ Thompson is a practicing graphic designer, graphic design educator, and entrepreneur currently teaching graphic, web, and interactive design at Youngstown State University. RJ, formerly taught at Edinboro University as a Full-Time Temporary Professor, Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and La Roche College as a Visiting Professor of Graphic Design.
He has owned and operated his design practice, Zola Design LLC since 2008. Before entrepreneurship and education, RJ was a graphic designer for the H.J. Heinz Company – a Fortune 500 worldwide company.
As an educator, RJ is able to combine his hobby with his job to present design in a fun and easy to understand way, not only to
RJ served on the Board of Directors for AIGA Pittsburgh, the professional association of design, from 2007-2010. With AIGA’s mission “to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force,” RJ certainly
RJ is a 2004 graduate of the International Academy of Design and Technology, where he secured an Associate Degree in Specialized Technology in Visual Communications, and is also a 2007 graduate of
RJ and his wife, Erin, live in Bellevue, PA.
Contact Information
Office: Bliss 4055 / Phelps Hall 215D
phone: 330.941.1561
e-mail: rjthompson01@ysu.edu
Please all 24 hours for a response.
iOS Apps
Intro to Interactive Design
Intermediate Interactive Design
Motion for Interactive Design
Advanced Interactive Design
History of Graphic Design
Intro to Typography
Youngstown Design Works
RJ Thompson Portfolio
City of Youngstown
Score Farmer’s Market App
McDonough Museum of Art
Awesome Foundation Youngstown
Prof earns Governor’s Award for “City of You”
RJ Thompson, assistant professor of Graphic & Interactive Design, will receive the Ohio Governor’s Award in the Arts for Community Development for the “City of You” project later this spring.
The award is given to individuals or organizations that work to create or strengthen interactive arts participation among diverse community members while increasing public awareness about the role of the arts in community life. Thompson was selected from a pool of 65 applicants.
The Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio is a statewide program that showcases and celebrates Ohio artists, arts organizations, arts patrons and business support of the arts. The program is presented by the Ohio Arts Council and the Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation. To learn more about the City of You project, visit www.cityofyou.org. READ MORE HERE