SAM (YATES) MEIER 🇵🇭🇺🇸

DESIGNER + EDUCATOR + YOGI



Sam Meier teaches in the Visual Communications Department at the University of Kansas (KU) and serves as the program director. Meier is also a senior designer with the Global Trends and Innovation Studio at Hallmark in Kansas City, Missouri. She is an MA student in the African-American Studies Department at KU, studying Black Art and Design.

Her experience ranges from in-house media for Kansas City PBS, experiential design and wayfinding with Dimensional Innovations, to brand experience and identity with D.C. firm Beveridge Seay. She has been an American In-house Design Awards winner, an American Graphic Design Awards winner through Graphic Design USA (GDUSA), and an American Illustration 42 award recipient.

Meier is President Emeritus of the Kansas City Chapter of AIGA (the Professional Association for Design) and spends her free time working with her partner in their shared studio, Yup Yup Design, practicing yoga or working with various community groups.

In addition to my teaching and design career, I am pursuing an M.A. in African & African American Studies to gain further knowledge in graphic design history and the profession.

CURRICULUM VITAE
YUP YUP DESIGN


TEACHING STATEMENT

Creating a learning environment where students see themselves as visual change-makers and influential citizens is integral to the educational background I aim to foster. I help students see themselves in positions of success by sharing compelling creative examples and case studies from design history and theory. To prepare students for the industry demands, I create a strong base for visual communications, typography, and systems thinking while providing clear avenues for experimentation and introducing emerging technologies. With this wide variety of problem-solving techniques, students will be prepared for their future careers’ professional and technological hurdles.The first time I was introduced to a Black designer, I felt like a new world of culture creators had emerged. Creating this sense of identity and inspiration in the classroom is critical. Through directed processes and creating safe spaces for individual and peer feedback, reflection, and refinement, I equip students with the skills to become inclusive visual interpreters. Sharing the craft of design alongside relevant historical context fosters greater awareness of the societal role of visual communication. I am humbled and honored by the opportunity to witness students continually create and grow in a field or path they never imagined.

STUDENT OUTCOMES

I teach various areas of design, ranging from introductory to advanced, print to digital. Courses I have facilitated are the History of Graphic Design, visual communications, typography, senior capstone, and professional practice.


CREATIVE OUTCOMES

Personal Explorations
Graduate Studies
Client Driven Solutions


@SAMYATESMEIER