Patricia Childers

Patricia Childers is a NYC-based designer and professor of graphic design, typography, and design theory. As an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute, The New York City College of Technology (Citytech), and The Fashion Institution of Technology (FIT), she promotes intellectual engagement as a place of possibilities. Throughout her career in education, she has explored the symbiotic relationship between culture and design, and design’s power to reshape cultural narratives.

Besides teaching, Patricia practices professionally through her design studio, P Childers Design. She serves on the AIGA’s Design Educator’s Community (DEC) Steering Committee, is co-director of Tipo, Cibo, Vino, a letterpress workshop in Italy, and is an active member of several design organizations. Patricia holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and studied critical theory at NYU’s Graduate School of Arts and Science.

Rhode Island School of Design, BFA

Vermont College of Fine Arts, MFA

Recent Publications

Dialogue, Michigan Publishing, will publish December 2023 on behalf of the AIGA DEC
AIGA DEC Design + Writing Fellowship Exhibition
publishes Dialogue on behalf of the AIGA DEC.
Peer-reviewed for inclusion in an upcoming publication in July 2023. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://educators.aiga.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DECFellows_PosterExhibit_ZINE_ReaderSpreads.pdf

Recent Presentations

AIGA DEC Annual Conference “LENS,” 2023, peer-reviewed
Making Space for Graphic Designers as Visual Essayists

AIGA Annual Design Conference 2023,
peer-reviewed
Education Dialogue: Design Research & Writing: Exploring a Living Database

The One Club Educator’s Summit, 2023
Elevating the engagement process: Developing Synchronicity and Engagement between both Academia and Industry Communities.

CUNY Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Conference: The Illusion of Inclusion: Collaborative Solutions for Performative Diversity, 2023
Graphic Design Principles: A History of Ideas is a History of Culture

CUNY Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Conference: The Illusion of Inclusion: Collaborative Solutions for Performative Diversity, 2023
Graphic Design Principles: A History of Ideas is a History of Culture

The Victorian Letterforms of Ethel Reed, 2022
The Poster House Museum, NY, NY,
https://posterhouse.org/event/the-victorian-letterforms-of-ethel-reed/

Recent Exhibitions

AIGA National Conference DEC Design + Writing Fellowship Exhibition, 2022
“Graphic Annotation; Speaking Truth to Power” poster included in group exhibit of posters created by the Design + Writing Fellowship. Displayed at the AIGA National Conference, The Seattle Pacific University, and The University of Washington.
https://educators.aiga.org/design-writing-fellowship/

Recent Fellowships

AIGA DEC Design + Writing Fellowship, AIGA 2022-23
Peer reviewed fellowship, one of 18 selected.
AIGA writing group that focuses on the Visual Essay as communication artifact, to offer an avenue to conduct and disseminate research through making practices.

AIGA Wiki Scholars, AIGA 2022
Increasing the visibility of women and people of color and inspiring the next generation of designers to add design information to Wikipedia.

Recent Leadership

AIGA Design Educators Community (DEC) Steering Committee, 2022-2025

Co-Chair, AIGA DEC Design Conference, 2023

Tipo Cibo Vino Letterpress workshop, 2019-2022
Co-direct a 10-day workshop that cumulates in a letterpress project at Tipoteca, a working letterpress museum. The experience includes travel throughout northeastern Italy to view graphic archives and museums dedicated to typography (tipo,) food (cibo,) and wine (vino).