CLIENTS :
826 National
826 LA
826 Valencia
Bagel Broker
Chronicle Books
COC Faculty Association (COCFA)
Echo Park Art Walk
Good Magazine
Houston Hospitality
Inner-City Arts
Koreatown Youth + Community Center
LA Louver
LeClerc Design for Ojalá Productions
Machine Project
Presente
Paper or Plastic
+ more
*Parallel-Play is a stage of social development where children play separately but adjacent to one another—they are engaged in a constant process of observation and adaptation—each modifying their own play accordingly. I am always observing, adapting, and making my work feel like play.
I am Shannon Doronio Chavez. I am a graphic designer, educator, speaker, and advocate for a better future by design. I am a tenured professor and the Department Chair of the Graphic & Multimedia Design program at the College of the Canyons in Valencia, California. I make my home in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, where the sweet smell of tacos and cumbia jams fill the night air (and my heart).
I graduated from OTIS College of Art & Design and started my design career in publication design at Chronicle Books (I only lasted a year in SF - the Bay Area fog was killing my vibras). I became interested in teaching while spearheading a robust publication design program at 826LA.
I am a first-generation college student who had to tackle a mountain of hurdles while earning my degree. Throughout my design education and career I often found myself a representative of a minority demographic in the room. This experience drives my desire to create greater access to design education and equitable pathways to industry. The public that visual culture serves, is not equally represented in the rooms where visual culture is taught and made. This needs to change.
My astrological sign is Pisces, so be careful with my heart.
Contact shannon@parallel-play.com
Resume / CV
Speaking & Writing
Imago DEI•sign [on Substack]
BIPOC Design History
Overload: Mental Health and Design Education
The Aspect Ratio - EPISODE 6: WHAT CAN DESIGN EDUCATORS DO!
AIGA / DEC: What Design Needs to Understand About Racial Gaslighting.
ShoutOut LA!
Teaching
Student work samples
Advocacy through design
2011 Sappi Award Recipient
