Erik A. Evensen is a graphic designer, illustrator, and educator whose creative work often reinterprets topics from history, mythology, and folklore. His projects have been called “innovative and groundbreaking” by Graphic Novel Reporter, “a thrill” by Ain’t It Cool News, “literate and entertaining” by Geeks of Doom, and “smart and snarky” by BookList. His Xeric-winning debut graphic novel, Gods of Asgard, has been featured and sold at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, and the Wexner Center for the Arts, and adopted as a textbook at James Madison University, Marshall University, Purdue University, and Gustavus Adolphus College. His projects have been featured online at AV Club, Nerdist.com, and Geek & Sundry, and in print in Graphic Design USA and the Washington Post.
Erik is an Associate Professor and Director of the MFA in Design at the University of Wisconsin–Stout. He has taught in all areas of Visual Communication Design, but specializes in design drawing and visualization, concept art, and illustration. His creative work, research, and academic writing stand at the intersection of several visual communication methods, and he has presented at and reviewed for academic conferences sponsored by the Design and Emotion Society, the International Association of Societies for Design Research (IASDR), Motion Design Education (MODE) Summit, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).
Erik holds a BA in Studio Art from the University of New Hampshire and an MFA in Visual Communication Design from Ohio State University, with post-baccalaureate study in drawing & painting at the SMFA Boston. Prior to entering the “family business” of education, he spent several years as a graphic designer specializing in advertising, branding, publication design, and digital illustration. He lives near Minneapolis with his wife, conductor/composer Erika Svanoe.
