David Szalay

Title: Professor
Dept/Program: Graphic Design
Office: Folk Hall 154
Phone: 330–972–8202
Email: szalay@uakron.edu
Website: http://www.daveszalay.com

Biography

David Szalay is a Professor in the Graphic Design program at the Myers School of Art.  He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a Master of Arts in Communication from The University of Akron. He also holds a Master of Fine Arts in Illustration from The University of Hartford. He has been a professional designer and illustrator since 1985. He held leadership positions in advertising, trade show/exhibit design, and the commercial printing field before founding the multidisciplinary creative studio, Szalay Design Associates, Inc. in 1996. The award winning studio worked with an extensive list of corporations, non-profits, and institutions from around the world on branding, package design, exhibit design, illustration, video, and interactive productions until 2006. Dave has taught at Akron since 2005. He currently has an active professional practice, Dave Szalay Design + Illustration out of his home studio in Richfield, Ohio. His illustration blends digital media with traditional techniques and is inspired by vintage mid-century advertising and story books. His research interest is in narrative imagery, visual storytelling, animation, and illustration history.

Dave’s work has appeared in various publications including Creative Quarterly, 3 x 3, The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, HOW magazine, and displayed at the Joseloff Gallery in Hartford, CT, The Emily Davis Gallery, and Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio, and Studio 2091 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Dave is past VP of the Advertising Federation of Greater Akron, past 5th district Addy Chair, and his work has won numerous awards including the Individual Excellence Award in Illustration from the Oho Arts Council in 2015, multiple Benjamin Franklin Printing Awards,  Exhibitor Show: Best of Show 10’ x 10’ winner, and Multiple ADDY awards. His work has been recognized by The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, The Adobe Design Achievement Awards, and he was The First Night Akron Artist for 2014.

Memberships 

University and College Designers Association (UCDA), American Institute of Graphic Design, (AIGA), The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Research

Past Vice President of Advertising Federation of Greater Akron,  Past 5th District Addy Chair Benjamin Franklin Award (Multi-Process Print Design),  Exhibitor Show: Best of Show (Corporate I.D.),  Addys (Interactive & Self Promotional Material)

Education

M.F.A. in Illustration from The University of Hartford, M.A. Communications
B.F.A., Graphic Design from The University of Akron