Graphic and Web Design

Belinda grew up in Northern Ontario where she developed a love of nature and animals.
Many of her gouache paintings can be described as close up "natural landscapes".
Enjoys playing softball in summer and curling in the winter and tries not to take either too seriously.
Currently resides in Rigaud, Quebec and enjoys walking her dog on the mountain.

About teaching in Graphic & Web Design
"It is so fulling to be a part of the diverse and talented community of John Abbott College.
Having come full circle as an art director and a visual artist,
I now get the opportunity to share what I have learned from my own experience.

Designers solve problems in order to communicate an idea or a message.
Graphic and web designers develop their craft by understanding the principles of design,
developing strong technical skills, listening, interpreting and appreciating a client’s perspective or
situation. They embrace feedback and strive for the best solution.
Part of my role as an educator is to facilitate the process of solving problems.

When this happens in a classroom, it is a real privilege to be a part of the process.
Rough drawings develop into final concepts. Ideas come to life on-line.
It is not by magic that this happens, it is by participating and fully engaging in problem solving
that solutions emerge from the white space or dark screen.

By the third year, students appreciate the value in what they have learned.
When they return from their stage, they comprehend that others value what they know.
The best part of teaching is working everyday with amazing, young people."

Ask Belinda about her roadtrip to Alaska!!

I wanted to be a college professor like my Dad ever since I went to work with him and he let me stand on a chair and scribble on the blackboards with chalk. I used to give math quizzes to the kids I babysat for. In spite of this, I was still much in demand as a babysitter.     I got my Bachelor’s of Science in Math and Computer Science and minored in Theatre and Creative Writing at the University of Pittsburgh. Then I went on to get my Master’s of Science in Statistics and Psychology at Carnegie-Mellon University. After working for a year programming in Computer Assisted Instruction, I went back to school for my doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh.   For seven years I travelled around as a nomadic university professor. I replaced faculty on one and two year contracts teaching psychology and statistics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Saskatchewan at Saskatoon. I wrote a couple of statistics songs to make statistics easier and performed them at coffee houses along with other songs I wrote. I also did layout and writing for a woman’s magazine. I got a lot of compliments on the comic strip I created.   I fell in love with San Francisco when I was visiting my sister and trained computer science tutors at Berkeley for a year. Then I came back to Canada to teach in the math department at Dalhousie University in Halifax.   Finally I came to Montreal to teach Educational Technology at Concordia University.  I taught Instructional Design (I love making handouts!) and programming on Apple II microcomputers.   I took lots of courses in radio, TV, and video production. When my two-year contract with Concordia ended, I decided to stay in Montreal instead of moving to Rochester or Ottawa for another university job.   I freelanced for CBC radio and TV for several years, documentaries and teleplays, and it was exciting, but it never developed into a fulltime job. So I started working at John Abbott as head of audio-visual services. They put me in charge of the PCC lab, which was in the library at that time. My favourite computer was the first Macintosh computer, the first one to come with a mouse.   I liked making promotional videos for John Abbott and running the computer labs, but I missed the independence and creativity of teaching. Susan talked me into interviewing for the Math department. Coincidentally, Dock Anson, her husband-to-be, was on the committee that hired me. When a new program started up, Susan Regan talked me into teaching Office Systems Management. So Susan and her husband are responsible for my teaching career at Abbott! It was way more fun to teach computer software than it was to teach statistics and trig. Students love it.   In 1999 we changed over to a new program, PDHT, and the software is even cooler. All of a sudden I got lots of clients wanting me to make them brochures, business cards, web sites, and animations.   But my first love is still teaching. I wake up in the morning excited about going to work. I can’t wait to show you guys what I know and see the cool things you’re doing. Not only are you an amazingly creative and talented bunch, but you’re also very generous about showing me new tricks in Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark. My philosophy of life is “Follow your interests. You’ll never know what they’ll come in handy.”

With over 20 years of professional experience in graphic design, illustration, branding, web design/ development, illustration, and photography, I have insider-level knowledge of both technical and creative roles. I understand how each supports the other, and how they overlap.
My experience includes agency, in-house, and freelance. I have worked with clients from multinational corporate interests to small independent shops, in industries including retail, publishing, travel, fashion, manufacturing and the arts. In addition to my experience as a web/app designer, my illustrations and photos have been used in many publications, and I have designed for production in advertising, packaging & garment for a wide variety of uses & applications.
Technically, I specialize in web design and app design, specifically UI/UX.
As a creative, my main skillsets are graphic design, illustration, and photography.

As a teacher, what like best about CEGEP is that I can mentor people starting out on their path as designers, as I can help them discover what direction they would like to go in, and guide them towards fields that suit their interests. We live in very exciting times in terms of technology and opportunity as designers, and I feel that the Graphic and Web Design program at John Abbott College provides excellent creative and technical training & opportunities for future designers.