Welcome

For complete information on the Graphic and Web Design program, please visit the program section of the John Abbott website.

Welcome to John Abbott College’s Graphic & Web Design departmental page.

Members of the Department

Berretta, Gianni :

Berretta, Gianni



P-219
gianni.berretta@johnabbott.qc.ca

Gianni Berretta holds a Bachelor degree in Graphic Design from Concordia University, and is finishing up a Masters in Art Education from Concordia as well. What Gianni enjoys most about teaching at JAC is the interaction with his students. He is passionate about guiding them to achieve the next level in their skills, knowledge and work process.


Gare, Belinda : Admin. Chair

Gare, Belinda

Admin. Chair
514-457-6610 ext.5579
P-217-A
belinda.gare@johnabbott.qc.ca

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!!


Girouard, Eric :

Girouard, Eric


514-457-6610 ext. 5851
P-217A
ericg@johnabbott.qc.ca

Eric Girouard joined the faculty of John Abbott College’s Publication Design and Hypermedia Technology department in 2001, after starting his teaching career at the International Academy of Design in Montreal in 1997.

Although Eric holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts (specializing in painting & drawing) from Concordia University in Montreal, he traded in his paintbrushes for a mouse and keyboard when he first used Photoshop in 1991.

Since then, he has worked in professional photography, print and web design as well as user interface design and usability analysis. In addition to his responsibilities as departmental chair at John Abbott College, Eric is a Master mentor of photographic art at The Arcanum, runs his own blog and stock photography portal site.

Eric lives in Rigaud with his girlfriend and his two kids. When not hiding behind a computer screen for work, Eric loves hiding behind a camera for fun.


Richman, Jan :

Richman, Jan


514-457-6610 ext. 5934
P-215
jan.richman@johnabbott.qc.ca

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.”


Rock, Rick : Tech. Chair

Rock, Rick

Tech. Chair
514-457-6610 ext. 5932
P-217A
rickrock@johnabbott.qc.ca

Rick began his teaching career by training and consulting design professionals, corporations and educational institutions in a variety of computer graphic related digital visual arts fields. Since 1984, he has focused his efforts on photography, illustration, 3D animation and Postscript® image setting, i.e. desktop publishing.

In the nineties, Rick was a principle collaborator with the ‘Center for Imaging Arts & Technology’ program (CIAT) of the Dawson College Institute of Photography. During that time, he retrained design professionals for the burgeoning Postscript© digital output service market. He also broadened his teaching sphere to include CEGEP students in photography and computer graphic related subjects.

In the spring of the year 2000, Rick was contracted to provide retraining to the newly conceived Publication Design and Hypermedia Technology program (PDHT) at John Abbott and Dawson colleges. PDHT was a newly formed career program transitioned from the existing Office Systems Management program. Rick made the choice to accept an invitation to join the PDHT department faculty at John Abbott College in the winter semester of 2001.

Rick continued his professional development by completing his master’s degree in education during his tenure at John Abbott. He currently remains a member of the PDHT teaching faculty. In 2018 PDHT revised its program and updated the department name to Graphic & Web Design (G&WD). Apart from his regular teaching, he is also responsible as technical co-chair for the department. He endeavors to expand opportunities for the G&WD students which includes design internship and community partnerships. The John Abbott and McGill campus communities continue to benefit from the collaborative design student services he incorporates into his classroom activities.


Rogers, Ian :

Rogers, Ian




ian.rogers@johnabbott.qc.ca

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.


Ryan, Kellie-Rae :

Ryan, Kellie-Rae


514-457-6610 ext. 5931
P-215
kellie-rae.ryan@johnabbott.qc.ca


Courses

For a complete list of courses taught by the GWD department, please visit both the Graphic and Web Design program, and the General Education (Complementary courses) sections of the Program Planner.

Supplemental Information

Visit the Graphic and Web Design program page for detailed information.