Professor of Graphic Design

About

  • Website

    Gravdahl Design

  • Role

    Faculty

  • Position

    • Professor of Graphic Design
    • Director, Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition (CIIPE)

  • Concentration

    • Graphic Design
    • Illustration

  • Department

    • Art and Art History

  • Education

    • M.F.A. Illustration, Syracuse University
    • B.F.A. Graphic Design, Colorado State University

  • Curriculum Vitae:

Biography

John Gravdahl earned his BFA at Colorado State University. He worked for design firms in the Rocky Mountain market before establishing a free-lance enterprise with a wide-ranging clientele from small family-owned businesses to high-tech corporations and non-profit organizations. He received his MFA in Illustration at Syracuse University before founding Propeller Press, winning awards for his children’s books and educational posters. He continues his professional practice with private industry. Holding an extensive international exhibition record, he has served as a juror, speaker, and workshop mentor at major design exhibitions and conferences on four continents. Most recently he was named a GRAPHIS Master by the international design publisher Graphis Institute. A profile, portfolio, and interview on his career accomplishments and design philosophy is featured in the GRAPHIS Journal #379. He is a professor of Graphic Design in the Department of Art and Art History at CSU and a Co-Director of the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition (CIIPE).

https://gravdahldesign.com

https://blog.graphis.com/journal-design-johngravdahl/?mc_cid=9f4c9553e7&mc_eid=2d3d5bc278

https://graphis.com/portfolios/john-gravdahl-3

Publications

Publications include exhibition catalogs for many international juried and invitational graphic design exhibitions (see attached CV). Other examples include:

Continuum – ORO Editions, USA. Three recent posters and my lyrical commentaries were featured in a hardbound book among an international gallery of socially conscious posters and poetry. 2024

Graphis Blog, November 2025.  Provided background information and process on two of my Gold Award posters featured in the international design publication's annual competition.

GRAPHIS Journal #379 – Professional profile, interview, and portfolio, November 2023

15 Years Essay for the commemorative hardcover edition of the Taiwan International Student Design Competition (TISDC) 2023.

Works featured in two international textbooks:

     Design Composition Training, Rikuyosha Publishing, Japan 2017

     Communicating Design Through Numbers, P.I.E. Books, Japan 2016

Children's Picture Story Books:

     Curious Catwalk - Designer/Illustrator/Author, Propeller Press 2003

     The Tale of Dog Giovanni - Designer/Illustrator/Author, Propeller Press,  2001

The Physical Characteristics of Poster Art,  Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation, Co-author, 1994