Christopher G Leather
Leatherwerks
1814 Alta Vista Avenue
Munster IN 46321
t | 312-498-8735
education/
University of Illinois at Chicago [MFA ’06]
University of Tennessee [BFA ’96, BFA ’97]
teaching experience/
University of Illinois at Chicago
International Academy of Design and Technology
design courses taught/
History of Design
Type Design & Typography
Advanced Typography
2-Dimensional Design
Graduate Studies in Graphic Design
Graphic Design I / II / III
Color Theory for Design
Design Symposium
Editorial Design & Magazine Publishing
Layout for Electronic Media
Digital Prepress
professional experience/
PSD Graphic Arts, The University of Chicago
The Flux Group
UR Chicago Magazine
MetroPulse Magazine
independent projects/
Because We Are Fearless Men
Slab Magazine
80 Proof Press, Inc.
No Love Lost
State Champs
Puppy Love Records
clients/
Kadanoff Center for Theoretical Physics
NASA Astrobiological Center for Planetary Atmosphere
Center for Robust Decision-Making on Climate and Energy Policy
Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory
Darwin Chicago 2009
BBDO
BP
Leo Burnett
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Busch Gardens
National Geographic Channel
Abbott Labs
Buzz Shop Coffeehouse
publishing clients/
Pistil Magazine
NewCity Magazine
CMJ Magazine
music clients/
Brian Wilson
The Figbeats
Walking Bicycles
Highwheel Records
The Spiveys
Joe Armstrong
Daniel Roughan
Southern Records
Béton Brut
The Satellite Pumps
art gallery + curatorial experience/
A-1 Alternative Artspace
Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture
Life is not orderly.
Life is chaos.
Order is facade.
Perhaps design is not about imposing order on chaos but rather about learning to—and educating others to—navigate the disorder and live with chaos.
We should seek to blur or dissolve the lines between design education and design practice in every way possible. Practicality must be one with theory. It’s possible that the unindoctrinated student understands the problems we seek to solve better than the experienced professional—so often constrained by the limitations of what is known, or worse, what is accepted.
Design is about communication.
Communication is not about order.
Communication is about trust.
It has been said that to facilitate communication, design should inform and delight. Is it possible that we are more informed and more delighted by the journey—and all of its obstacles—than we are by the final destination?
So then design shouldn’t be the result of solving a problem, but rather the process of observing, analyzing, and living with the problem while sharing the knowledge of this experience with the world around us.
Design must be a dialogue, not a statement.
This dialogue is filtered through technology. Design has always been confronted by innovation. And design has always adapted. Buzzwords like interactivity are presented as new agendas, but interactivity is not new. Books are interactive. All design should be interactive. The question now is not how to design for interaction, but how can technology better facilitate interaction?
Technology will always be in constant evolution. Design must too be in constant evolution. Technology will always filter communication. Filters can be seen as limitations, but limitations feed creativity. Creativity leads to expression and expression tells a story. The story must always be greater than the technology.
Design is not a statement.
Design is a dialogue.
And it will continue to evolve.