Bio
Renée Stevens:
designer, educator, author, speaker.
Bio
Renée Stevens:
designer, educator, author, speaker.
Renée Stevens is an award-winning motion and augmented reality designer, educator, and public speaker currently located in Syracuse, NY. She is the creator of tagAR, an augmented reality mobile application that helps users never forget a name again. Her creative research looks at how Augmented Reality can help overcome Learning Disabilities, specifically Dyslexia. She splits her time between running an independent interactive design studio and as an Associate Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She is also the Chair of the Visual Communications Department. She has worked with great companies doing great work such as Forbes, Google, Dreamworks, Suave Kids, West Elm, and Minted. She was named a 2022 Person to Watch by GDUSA, a 2017 Educator to Watch by GDUSA and received a prestigious 2018 Meredith Teaching Recognition Award from Syracuse University.
As a speaker she has been invited to events around the world, including TEDx, SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, AIGA, and the U.S. Department of Defense, to talk about her work in Augmented Reality. She is an active member of AIGA Upstate New York. Stevens has been recognized nationally and internationally with awards from Graphis, Print, GDUSA, AEJMC, Minted, and Lightwork. Her favorite things include properly kerned type, perfectly paced music, and designing for good.
Renée is the Creative and Managing Director for the annual design workshop, Pixels & Print (http://pixelsvsprint.syr.edu) at Syracuse University, which provides a real-world collaborative experience to design students by working on projects focusing on the power of design by designing for social good.
Resume
Resume
MORE ABOUT ME
EDUCATION
Master of Science, Photography (Multimedia)
Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Bachelor of Fine Art, Graphic Design
Associate in Applied Science, Digital Illustration
Minor: Mass Media Communication
Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Design | Graduated with High Honors
EXPERIENCE
Syracuse University, Associate Professor of Design | 2022 – present
Chair, Visual Communications Department | 2022 – present
Assistant Professor of Design | 2016 – 2022
Associate Chair, Visual Communications Department | 2018 – 2022
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Renée Stevens Design. LLC, Owner, Designer, and Developer | 2009 – present
Forbes, Motion Designer | 2020 – 2021
i & us photography, co-owner and photographer
Minted, Exclusive CMYK designer
stressdesign, designer
Lattora, Paul, & McCann advertising, junior art director
The Post Standard, Ad Services designer
Montana Department of Agriculture, designer
AWARDS
GDUSA, Person to Watch | 2022
GDUSA, American Web Design Award | 2019
Meredith Teaching Recognition Award, Syracuse University | 2018
GDUSA, Educator to Watch | 2017
GDUSA, American Graphic Design Award | 2014
Graphis Poster Annual: Gold Award | 2008
PRINT: Gold Award | 2008
GDUSA, Four American Graphic Design Awards | 2008
GDUSA, Three American Graphic Design Awards | 2009
Light Work: Photography Invitational Honorable Mention Award | 2011
Minted: Sixty-five awards in Design and Photography | 2009– present
Metaverse in Education, Beijing Normal University, Keynote Speaker | 2022
Making Reality More Accessible
DINFOS, U.S. Department of Defense, Speaker | 2021
Designing for Time and Space
Sundance Film Festival, Panelist and Moderator | 2021
Sensory Storytelling for XR
South by Southwest EDU (SXSWEDU), Speaker | 2020
Augmented Learning for Diverse Students
VR/AR Global Submit, Speaker | 2019
Using VR/AR for Inclusion in Education
TEDx Syracuse University, Speaker | 2019
Never Forget a Name Again.
South by Southwest (SXSW), Speaker/Mentor | 2018
Augmented Reality and Immersive Design Mentor
Frameless Symposium on VR/MR/AR, Rochester Institute of Technology, Speaker | 2018
Social Augmented Reality
European Conference for Social Media in Limerick, Ireland, Speaker | 2018
Social Augmented Reality, presenting tagAR
Capital Region Advertising Federation, Education Series, Speaker | 2018
Social Augmented Reality
Human Computer Interaction Lecture Series SUNY Oswego, Guest Speaker | 2018
Practical Augmented Reality
Tea for Teaching Podcast, Interview | 2018
Augmented Reality Overcoming Learning Disabilities
Design Incubation Colloquium 4.0, Speaker | 2017
Augmented Reality Overcoming Learning Disabilities
AIGA Get Worked Up Conference, Speaker | 2017
Typography for Augmented Reality
South by Southwest (SXSW), Speaker | 2017
Breaking Your Computer Habits, "By Design" Ignite Series
Navy Senior Enlisted Media and Communication Training Symposium, Speaker | 2017
Design Thinking
Cornell University Cooperative Extension System Conference, Webinar Speaker | 2017
Interaction Design: The story of the User
Minted Masters Series, Webinar Speaker | 2015
Top Ten Tips for Type
SPEAKING
Adobe Certified Professional
SKILLS
Design Skills
Motion Design, Augmented Reality Design, 3D and 360° Animation, User Interface
Design, User Experience Research, Data Visualization, Typography, Identity Design, System Design
Publication Design, Advertising, Project Management, Art Direction, Social Media
Marketing, Digital Illustration, and Storytelling
Photography + Video Skills
Nikon and Canon DSLR for video and stills, 360° video, Digital Leaf Back, Audio
Recording and Editing, Studio Lighting, Non-Linear Editing, Storyboarding, Still
and Video Color Correction, Image Stabilization and Tracking, Post Production
Retouching, Visual Effects, and Motion Graphics
Computer + Development Skills
Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere Pro
Cinema 4D, Unity, Skybox, Final Cut Pro
Web: HTML5, CSS3, PHP, Javascript
iOS: Xcode, Swift 4