{"id":43692,"date":"2026-03-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=43692"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:17:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:17:56","slug":"tartan-spotlight-professor-zack-tucker-helps-to-shape-the-future-of-graphic-design-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/campus-life\/2026\/03\/02\/tartan-spotlight-professor-zack-tucker-helps-to-shape-the-future-of-graphic-design-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Tartan Spotlight: Professor Zack Tucker helps to shape the future of graphic design education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Professor Zack Tucker teaches web design in the design department at Sinclair College<\/a>. Tucker\u00a0holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in graphic design and illustration as well as a master\u2019s in educational technology, both from Southeast Missouri State University.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a graduate student at the University of Illinois seeking a master\u2019s of fine arts in graphic design, Tucker said he enjoyed \u201casking new questions and challenging the status quo. Sinclair has those same aspects that made it attractive for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tucker, the process of graphic design is even more interesting than its product. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Professor Zack Tucker aims to help students explore design processes and tools, not just produce a final project. <\/strong>SHUTTERSTOCK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI want to expose students to many different tools and processes,\u201d he said. \u201cDesigners have a unique ability to make the future tangible.\u201d\u00a0

Tucker said he stays passionate about his work through \u201cmanifesting access, care and belonging in a diverse student population–bringing together people who would maybe never be together otherwise; students who are new immigrants, students who are older and learning new skills, and students who are entering the workforce for the first time.\u201d\u00a0

\u201cI love meeting students where they are at, and seeing students take material and run with it in their own way,\u201d he said. \u201cSinclair is \u2018open access,\u2019 meaning there are no prerequisites, unlike other four-year schools who require a portfolio. This creates more opportunities for students to study design and take it into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to match Sinclair students to the community at large, which matches Sinclair\u2019s role as a community college: vital.<\/p>ZACK TUCKER<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tucker is also co-chair of the American Institute of Graphic Arts\u2019 Design Educators Community (DEC) Steering Committee<\/a>, which enables him to see how other schools approach and teach design across the country. \u201cWe offer a world-class education at Sinclair,\u201d he said.

Recently, Sinclair\u2019s Design Department wrote a proposal to host the 2026 AIGA Educators Conference<\/a> on July 27-28, and was accepted. Sinclair is the first community college to host this conference.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Organizers at the 2023 AIGA DEC Symposium.<\/strong> EDUCATORS.AIGA.ORG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tucker said it will bring together design educators, researchers and practitioners from across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHosting the conference at Sinclair highlights the essential role community colleges play in shaping the future of design education and expanding access to the field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucker said fostering creativity in the classroom involves students feeling \u201csafe and valued\u201d with \u201cspace and time to be creative. Students are often told they are not enough, but I want to build their creative confidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucker said he wants to stay at Sinclair for the long haul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really like working at Sinclair. I find a lot of joy working with the students,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a passion for expanding experiential opportunities, such as the upcoming computer programming Code for Dayton<\/a>: a collaborative, integrative website to understand barriers to voting in our community.”

\u201cI want to match Sinclair students to the community at large, which matches Sinclair\u2019s role as a community college: vital,\u201d he said. \u201cBe the change you wish to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loura Lawrence, reporter\/photographer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n