Francisco Ortega-Grimaldo, M.A.

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contact information : francisco.ortega@ttu.edu

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| Graphic Designer | Graphic Design Educator | Multimedia Advisor |

Creative. Multitasked. Fast learner. Able to connect with students to express difficult issues and explain technological topics. Teaching and professional experience. Skillful in hands-on projects. Able to design press-ready layouts, websites and other multimedia products. Experience using industry standard software and hardware. Capacitated to communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders to define projects and develop implementations.

| Qualifications Summary |

7 years combined experience in the higher education environment both as a professional designer and scholastically

Print Production: Identity & Logo Design • Layout and Typography • Spot and 4-color Process Layouts • Illustration • Digital Photography • Image Touchup/Color Correction • Scanning

Website Design: Graphics Production and Optimization • Layout and Typography • Hand Coding: HTML/CSS/JavaScript • Browser Compatibility • Web standards • Host setup and Maintenance

Multimedia Production: Video Editing • Audio Editing • Flash & Director Animation • Compression Formatting

| Professional Experience |

• September 2007: School of Arts, Texas Tech University (TTU)
  Lubbock, TX
  Assistant Professor on Tenure Track
  Instructor and Researcher in the Communication Design Program. For the fall semester I am teaching 3 courses on on-line media: HTML hand coding, image formatting, web media software and on-line media standards.
  
  
• Fall 2006: School of Arts, Texas Tech University (TTU)
  Lubbock, TX
  Art Appreciation Instructor
  I approach 4 different topics for teaching art to non-art students: understanding art socially, the formal elements of art, the fine arts media and a well-rounded overview of art history
  
  
• August 2005 – Current: School of Arts, Texas Tech University (TTU)
  Lubbock, TX
  Teacher Assistant
  I assisted different teachers in many sections of Art Appreciation and Art Studies courses • Directed class from time to time, graded journals and essays, collaborated in exam materials • Assisted students with technical problems in the use of software and aid them in aesthetical issues
  
  
• June 1999 - July 2005: The Model Institutions for Excellence (MIE) at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
  El Paso, TX
  Graphic Design-Multimedia Advisor/ Research Assistant
  Involved in all aspects of the initiatives communication efforts
  Position Summary: Oversaw print and web projects in all stages • Produced logos, brochures, booklets, posters, etc. • Developed and maintained websites • Created presentations used internally, nationally and internationally at conferences and during annual progress reporting • Effectively created projects to various on-campus clients • Maintained hardware, consulted on technology purchases (hardware, software) • Worked with on and off-campus printers to provide accurate estimates and production timetables while staying within approved budget constraints.
  
  
• January – May 2003: New Mexico State University (NMSU)
  Las Cruces, New Mexico
  Graphic Design Teacher
  Instructor for the upper level class: Digital Color Production (ART 356)
  Summary of Class: Students where exposed to: The diversity of digital document formats, different color systems and their proper use • Additional analysis of layout and typography • Compression of images and hand coding HTML • Final projects included letterheads, brochures, business cards and websites • Final grade was based on quality of work, periodic quizzes and a final comprehensive exam.
  
  
• Fall 1999 – April 2002: FOX Fine Arts Department
  UTEP
  Teacher Assistant
  Assisted students with technical problems in the use of software and aid them in aesthetical issues • Organized class material, created and evaluated exams, and gave class when the teacher was absent.
  

| Education |

• August 2005 – Current: Texas Tech University
  Lubbock, Texas
  PhD Student in Critical Studies and Art Practices
  Thesis concentration: Board Game development and international issues between México and the US.
  
  
• December 2002: University of Texas at El Paso
  El Paso, TX
  Graduate Student Teaching Certificate
  Four–months seminar on teaching approaches, class preparation and use of resources and materials
  
  
• May 2002: University of Texas at El Paso
  El Paso, TX
  M.A., Graphic Arts
  Thesis concentrations: a) Book history, evolution and new technologies. b) Cross-cultural perceptions on the border.
  
  
• May 2000: University of Texas at El Paso
  El Paso, TX
  B.A., Graphic Arts and Psychology
  Multidisciplinary studies in Graphic Design, Drawing, Philosophy and Psychology.
  

| Awards, Exhibits and Publications |

• Walt Disney’s Imagineering Contest 1997 - First price
  
  
• Member of “Golden Key National Honors Society” since 2000
  
  
• TeomaiMomotzli theatrical group – Writer and stage designer of the adaptation on the story “Macario” by Bruno Traven. October 2001
  
  
• Graduate Project Exhibition at the Jane Weinert Blumberg Auditorium. April 10, 2002
  
  
• Rios Proyect and more border – Solo Exhibit. UTEP library. April 12 – May 3, 2002
  
  
• Digital Paper Book – Exhibit. Herzog’s room, UTEP library, 6th floor. August 14, 2002
  
  
• Participant in the show “It’s a Glamorous Life: The 7th Annual Young Latino Artists Exhibition,” held by the Mexic-Arte Museum at Austin Texas. July 12 - September 14, 2002
  
  
• 10th Annual short story National award “Carmen Baez” – 3rd place. Publication, May 2004
  
  
• Collaboration with Rafael Fajardo on his computer game “Crosser.” The game has been reviewed by several magazines like “intelligent agent” (vol. 3 no. 2) and has been mentioned in Émigré.
  
  
• Presentation of project “ANAPRA (the presence of native architecture on the border)” on several occasions for the University Seminar classes. 2003 - 2004
  
  
• Permanent display of project “Crossing the Bridge: a board game” at the Inter-American Border Studies Center (UTEP).
  
  
• SBC Chancellors Award— Recipient: This award is not unusually presented to art students. $3000 for three years to cover tuition costs. Fall 2005 - Fall 2008.
  
  
• Enter the Game — Research Event. I participated as coordinator of the event along with other three Ph.D. students. More than 50 students from different disciplines participated in this even by playing in a variety of board games activities all related to the arts. A survey and outcomes of the event were recorded. TTU, Spring 2006.
  
  
• Cute Pixels: critical practice: games as cultural expression — Rafael Fajardo’s Art Lecture and Digital Games Exhibit: I coordinated his presentation from the booking of his flight to his daily itinerary. His lecture was covered by the University’s newspaper “The Daily Toreador.” TTU, April 20 and 21, 2006.
  
  
• Stories of Women in Print– Publication: I was requested by Joe Arredondo and Future Akins, TTU School of Arts faculty and staff, to create a digital version of a print exhibit— Summer 2006.
  This web site has a permanent space in:
  www.depts.ttu.edu/art/artdept/LANDMARK/WomenInPrint/welcome.html
  
  
• Genderland — Art Show. This show, with more than 32 artists participating, was a big success in the Lubbock community. I was in charge of documenting the event through video and digital pictures. The final product will became a DVD with 30 minutes of footage and interviews. Underwood Center, Lubbock, TX, Fall 2006.
  
  
• Céfiro 8th Annual Conference — Lecturer. I presented the paper “Millenary Games Among Us” on the topic of Autochthonous games in México and their struggle to survive in this modern era. This was an international conference organized by the Classical Language Program at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. March, 2007.
  

|Skills|

Software

• Adobe: PhotoShop, Illustrator, PageMaker, Premier and InDesign.
• Macromedia: DreamWeaver, Flash, FireWorks, Director and Fontographer.
• Other: Acrobat, iMovie, OmniPage, Microsoft (Word-Excel-PowerPoint), Strata VideoShop, QuickTime Pro, AppleWorks, Fetch and BBEdit.
  
  Additional



• Book design and bookbinding: Signature binding and Chinese block binding
• Papermaking: from natural fibers or high quality recycled paper (laser print quality)
• Markup Languages: HTML, basic CSS and basic JavaScript
• Experience in troubleshooting problems
• Use of cross-platform operating systems (Mac and PC)
• Bilingual Spanish/English, in addition, capable to read in French.
• Highly detail-oriented