Alison Place

she/they

I'm Alison. I'm a designer, educator and writer who explores the intersection of design and feminist theory as a space for critical making and radical speculation. I am the author of Feminist Designer: On the Personal and the Political in Design (MIT Press 2023), which illuminates design as a feminist practice through essays, case studies and dialogues. My writing has also been featured in Design Observer, Fast Company and Eye Magazine. I have presented my research nationally and internationally, and have received numerous honors for my scholarship and creative work, including the Design Incubation Award for Published Scholarship and the Robert C. and Sandra Connor Endowed Faculty Fellowship. 

I am currently an associate professor of graphic design in the School of Art at the University of Arkansas, where I also serve as director of the graphic design program. I teach all levels of design, specializing in design research, emerging technologies and speculative design. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, I was visiting assistant professor of communication design at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where I also served as director of the communication design minor program. Until 2023, I served two terms on the AIGA Design Educators National Steering Committee. I have over ten years of industry experience as a creative director and designer for higher education and nonprofit institutions. I received an M.F.A. in experience design from Miami University, and a B.S. in graphic design and a certificate in journalism from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.