ERIK A. EVENSEN
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I am currently a Professor of Design in the School of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin–Stout. My teaching expertise and professional background covers a broad subset of Visual Communication Design, including illustration, graphic design, concept art, and design drawing. I teach at all levels, from foundations through M.F.A.
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FULL CV
STUDENT WORK SAMPLES
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GRAPHIC DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN DRAWING
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN VISUALIZATION
CONCEPT ART
GRADUATE THESIS ADVISING
GRADUATE-LEVEL TEACHING
I have advised many M.F.A. thesis projects as both a thesis advisor and committee member. I typically choose to advise projects on Visual Communication topics such as graphic design, illustration, and story-driven media, and enjoy working with students who explore these through the lens of societal impact, historical context, or cultural expression. Selected highlights at the link; a full list of thesis advising is available through my CV.
VIEW SELECTED PROJECTS

”No Word for Art: Discovering Hmong Creatives Through Multimedia Forms”
Pang Chia Yang, MFA 2025 | Multimedia Producer, Skyward
”Graphic Nonfiction for Eco-Educational Resource / Just Say NOPE to Plastic”
Brianna Capra,
MFA 2024 | Independent illustrator & artist
“Re-imagining the Spooner Railroad Park as a Center for Community and Railroad History, Recreation, and Edutainment”
Jonathan Alesch, MFA 2024 | Project Manager; independent designer/scholar
“A Thread Through History: How Interlinking Contemporary Art with Paj Ntaub Can Connect Generations”
Jackson Yang, MFA 2023 | Graphic Designer, UW-Stout​
“Representation and Diversity in the Horror Genre: How Design Research can Inform the Creation of a Themed Lifestyle Publication”
​Jessica Kromrie, MFA 2022 | Marketing Manager at Canomiks​
“Motion Graphic and Tangible User Interface for Audience Participation in Recorded Live Performance”
Matthew A. Wigdahl, MFA 2021 | Tenure-line faculty, Design at UW–Eau Claire​
“Designing the Future: Diegetic Sculpture & Literary Adaptation in Speculative Fiction Cinema” 
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Jonathan Wheeler, MFA 2021 | Tenure-line faculty, Video Production at UW-Stout
”Chinese-style Digital Painting”
Zi-xu Tian, MFA 2017 | Instructor of 3D Animation at Visual College of Art & Design, Vancouver​
COURSE HISTORY
DRAWING + VISUALIZATION
​​Design Drawing 1 / Ohio State
Design Drawing 2 / Ohio State
Design Drawing 3 / Ohio State
Foundational Design Drawing / UW-Stout
Design Visualization (ID) / UW-Stout
Concept Art (Game/Anim.) / UW-Stout

DESIGN FOUNDATIONS
2D Design Foundations / YCCC
2D Design Foundations / Ohio State
3D Design Foundations / Ohio State
​Design Foundations Lecture / Ohio State
​Design Theory & Methods / UW-Stout
Color Theory​ / UW-Stout
GRAPHIC DESIGN
2D ​Digital Foundations / Bemidji State
2D Digital Foundations / UW-Stout
​Graphic Design 1 / Ohio State
​Typography & Letterform / UW-Stout
Typographic Design / Ohio State
​Digital Illustration​ / UW-Stout

GRADUATE
Graduate Seminar 1 / UW-Stout
​Design Research / UW-Stout
Design Education / UW-Stout
Sem. 2/Thesis Prep​ / UW-Stout
Creative Thesis​ / UW-Stout
STUDENT RECOGNITION
Bex Cermin, MFA student | bexcerminportfolio.com 
  • Outstanding Graduate Researcher of the Year (2025)

Melanie Graves, MFA student
  • Work selected, Mastering Type (2nd ed.) Denise Bosler: Bloomsbury Visual Arts (2025) 
  • Mural selected for Art on Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (2023)
  • Mural selected for Eau Claire Colorblock Festival, Eau Claire, WI (2023)

Kristen Protheroe, MFA student | kristenprotheroe.com
  • Shortlist, Communication Arts Illustration Competition, 2025

Brianna Capra, MFA '24 | bcaprastudioarts.com
  • Outstanding Graduate Researcher of the Year (2024)

Riley Dombrowski, BFA '24
  • Mural selected for Eau Claire Colorblock Festival, Eau Claire, WI (2023)

Jonathan Alesch, MFA '23
  • Runner-up, Outstanding Graduate Researcher of the Year, 2023
  • Research paper presented at The Polytechnic Summit, 2022

Kristofer Tremain, BFA '21
  • Winner, NASA’s 2019 Space Grant Consortium logo design contest

Matthew A. Wigdahl, MFA '21 | wigdahldesigns.com
  • Research paper in Decipher (vol. 2): Proceedings of the AIGA Design Educators Community Conferences, AIGA Design Educators Community journal
  • Research poster presented at AIGA Design Educators Conference, 2019

STUDENT SUCCESSES
My students become successful designers, illustrators, art directors, and researchers in industry, as well as professors and college-level instructors. In addition to agencies and studios across North America, they are employed by entities such as Apple, IBM, Crocs, HOKA, Edward Jones, Amazon, DreamWorks, the NHL, 3M, and Microsoft. They have gone on to graduate programs at North Carolina State University, University of Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, MICA, SCAD, UCLA, MCAD, Lund University, Arizona State University, Ohio State University, and the University of Minnesota. They have served as instructors and tenure-track faculty at institutions such as the Cooper Union, Arizona State University, University of Louisiana–Lafayette, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin–Stout, Ohio State University, New York University, and Princeton University.
ERIK A. EVENSEN, M.F.A.
DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR, GRAPHIC NOVELIST
PROFESSOR of DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION
  • About
    • Bio
    • CV
    • Research
  • Teaching
  • Design
    • Logofolio
  • Illustration
  • Comics
  • Contact