Alireza Vaziri Rahimi | Design Director/Educator
A multidisciplinary designer and educator utilizing visual storytelling to promote social change with design. Alireza is an assistant professor of design at the University of Maryland, he holds an MFA in Design from the University of California, Davis and a BFA in Design from the Tehran University of Art. His scholarship, teaching, and outreach are centered on utilizing design and technology as effective mediums to raise people’s awareness about our world’s social, political, and cultural dilemmas.
Experience
Assistant Professor | University of Maryland, College park | 2023 – Present
Assistant Professor | University of Texas, El Paso | 2021 – 2023
Teaching Assistant | University of California, Davis | 2019 – 2021
Creative Director | Felesh Advertising Agency | 2015 – 2019
Senior Art Director | Magnolia Advertising Agency | 2013 – 2015
Art Director | Atibal Creative Studio | 2012 – 2013
Graphic Designer | PMG Ad Agency | 2010 – 2012
What I do
Specializing in design education, I develop and teach courses in graphic, interactive, and experience design, fostering creativity and problem-solving skills. As a creative leader, I drive innovation and excellence for global brands, ensuring impactful storytelling. My art direction expertise lies in crafting compelling visual narratives through graphic design, typography, and photography to engage audiences. With a strong focus on UX/UI design, I create seamless, human-centered digital experiences by integrating aesthetics with functionality.
Specialized in
Honors and Awards
2025 | Gold Award, University & College Designers Association (UCDA), Pasadena, Ca
2025 | Winner in GraphicArts, London International Creative Competition (LICC), London, UK
2025 | Selected Designer, International Poster Biennale in Warsaw, Pl
2025 | Finalist, United States International Poster Biennial (USIPB), USA
2025 | Finalist, Poster Stellars, Intercontinental Poster Competition, New York, USA
2024 | Bronze Award, Hehu International Poster Exhibition, Shenzhen, China
2024 | Winner, book Design, C2A Creative Communication Award, Los Angeles, USA
2024 | Finalist, Luga Poster Biennale, Porto, Portugal
2024 | Selected Winner, Poster for Future, Berlin, Germany
2023 | Selected Winner, 5th international Poster Competition“Mut zur Wut”, Germany
2023 | Silver Award, Graphis International Poster Annual Competition, New York, USA
2023 | Finalist, BIPB International Poster Art Biennale, South Korea
2023 | Selected designer, Uruguay Cartel Design Festival, Uruguay
2022 | First Prize, International Juried Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Art, NJ, USA
2022 | Second Prize, Artifact, The Sechrest Gallery of Art, North Carolina, USA
2022 | Finalist, Commarts (Communication Arts) Interactive competition, California, USA
2021 | Bronze Award, Poster Stellars, Intercontinental Poster Competition, New York, USA
2021 | Winner in GraphicArts, London International Creative Competition (LICC), London, UK
2021 | Selected designer, IMAGE + BIAS, Goethe-Institut, San Fransisco, USA
2020 | Honorable Mention, C2A Creative Communication Award, Los Angeles, USA
2020 | Silver Award, Graphis New Talent Annual, New York, USA
2019-21 | Graduate Scholarship, MFA in Design, UC Davis, USA
2020-2021 | UC Davis Dean’s Graduate Fellowship, Davis, USA
2018 | Appreciated designer, Moscow design Association Award, Moscow, Russia
2017 | Second Prize, Cow International Design Festival, Dnipro, Ukraine
2017 | Appreciated designer, Team Melli Design Contest, Tehran, Iran
2014 | First Prize, Iran’s Package Design Festival (Basteha), Tehran, Iran
2013 | First Prize, Spilet Branding Competition, Tehran, Iran
2009 | Second Prize, Tehran Theater Festival, Tehran, Iran
2008 | First Prize, Telecomino Logo Design competition, Tehran, Iran
Exhibitions
2024 | Artifact, The Sechrest Gallery of Art, North Carolina, USA
2024 | IFPSC, International Poster Juried Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain
2024 | Poster Stellars, Intercontinental Poster Competition, New York, USA
2024 | Type Text LDZ Exhibition, Łódź, Poland
2023 | Artifact, The Sechrest Gallery of Art, North Carolina, USA
2023 | Study is what you do, Rubin Center for Visual Art, Texas, USA
2022 | AIGA conference, Design for Democracy Exhibition, Seattle, USA
2022 | International Juried Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Art, New Jersey, USA
2022 | Artifact, The Sechrest Gallery of Art, North Carolina, USA
2021 | Dostoevsky 200, Global Biennnale of Graphic Design, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2021 | Visualizing Bias with Augmented Reality, Vienna, Austria
2021 | What if, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, California, USA
2020 | 5th International Poster Exhibition for Social Change, Leipzig, Germany
2020 | Escucha Mi Voz Poster Competition, Mexico City, Mexico
2019 | CO Show Poster Biennial, Colorado, USA
2018 | Graphic Stories Design Biennial, Nicossia, Cyprus
2017 | PDP Visual Communication Conference, Novi Sad, Serbia
2016 | Persian Garden Poster Exhibition, East lancing, USA
2014-2016 | Silver Cypress, IGDS graphic design exhibition, Tehran, Iran
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