Undergraduate Faculty
School of Web Design + New Media
Undergraduate Faculty
Bob Rigel | Department Director
After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a BA in Education, English and Fine Arts, Mr. Rigel began his career first as a teacher and then as a fine artist selling drawings, lithographs and serigraphs to Colorado galleries. An early adopter of the Macintosh computer, Bob worked as a graphic designer, illustrator, digital imaging artist and prepress color-correction specialist for over 20 years. Bob is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Adobe InDesign CS2. His fine art and graphic designs have received regional and national awards. Bob joined the Academy of Art in 1998 and is currently the Director of Web Design + New Media. Bob is a member of the AIGA and Art Director’s Club.
Gino Nave | Associate Director
Mr. Nave started his professional career in 1994 as a sound designer and musician, working with such companies as Alesis, Korg, and InVision Interactive. He has designed music and sound for Red Bull, Nike, Wrigley’s Gum, Hitachi, Pioneer, BMW, and Apple Computer. Gino operates his own freelance business producing motion graphics and video projects, writing songs, and occasionally designing websites. Gino is a member of the AIGA and Art Director’s Club.
Garman Yip | Online Director
Garman received his Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from University of Southern California, Los Angeles and later received his MFA in Computer Arts New Media from the AAU. He then gained tremendous experience from doing Flash design at both Method in SF and Juxt Interactive in Newport Beach, CA, as well as teaching web design at USC. Later he worked as designer for Deadline Advertising where he created websites for feature film releases and worked with media buyers to develop online advertisement strategies to drive traffic.
Most recently, Garman Yip was named Sr. Art Director at TBWA/Chiat/Day in Marina Del Rey where he was lead interactive art director for the launch of the Sony Playstation 3 console, coordinated viral marketing, special effects, and video production efforts for Playstation as well as for Visa, Absolut, Hoover and X Games.
As Senior Art Director at Media Arts Lab in Marina Del Rey, he was the Interactive Director for Disney/PIXAR’s Wall-E theatrical release. He launched interactive campaigns through tease, pre-launch and launch phases. He also provided creative and design support for Apple product launches.
Dan Eriksson | Instructor
Mr. Eriksson worked for over 10 years as an Art Director for several top advertising agencies in his native country of Sweden. At these agencies he received several awards for excellence in advertising design. Mr. Eriksson moved to the Bay Area in 1981 where he began his freelance advertising and graphic design company. After 20 years of using traditional media and techniques, Mr. Eriksson was a pioneer in using the computer for design and production, working with Adobe Illustrator as early as 1988.
Mitch Hudson | Instructor
Mr. Hudson has a BFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has developed a formidable list of software skills including Director, Lingo, Flash, ActionScripting, PHP and MySQL. Mr. Hudson also produces high-quality freelance graphics and animation for film, TV and web design.
Jonathan Deiss | Instructor
Jonathan Deiss is the Creative Director/Owner of TastyDesignTreats. He is a designer with experience in all aspects of advertising from strategy to tactical execution including integrated and interactive campaigns. His experience stems from work with fortune 500 clients across multiple industries and marketing channels.
Prior to starting his own small design company Jonathan was Creative Director for the Digital Marketing Group of Trailer Park where he headed up all creative projects overseeing both art direction and strategy. At Trailer Park, Jonathan focused on developing campaigns for entertainment companies and content providers including Sony, Sprint/Clearwire, MGM, Paramount, and CBS.
Before that, Jonathan was Creative Director for Tribal DDB Los Angeles. In this role Jonathan led all creative development and managed the creative team in LA for clients like Activision, Epson, Southern California Edison and Wells Fargo.
Prior to joining Tribal, Jonathan spent six months doing various integrated marketing projects for companies such as Logitech, T-Mobile, Phillip Morris, Kyocera, and Hewlett Packard. This collection of work included TV spots, brand assignments, website design, guerilla marketing, print and radio as well as promotions.
Jonathan has also spent time ant Dailey & Associates and Chiat Day/Tequila working on clients like ConocoPhillips, Best Western, MacGregor Golf, Callaway Golf, Honda, Starkist, and Nestle, Nissan, Harman/Kardon, Playstation, Ball Park Franks and Sony. Jonathan earned his Master of Sciences in Architecture at UCLA, a national top 10 architectural program, his Bachelor of Sciences in Design from the University of Florida and a Liberal Arts Honors Degree from Florida State University.
Greg Mar | Instructor
A graduate of the Academy of Art University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Design, Mr. Mar went on to work as Artistic Director/Choreographer for several performing arts programs, as well as Adjudicator for high school performing arts programs, which he still does to this day. Mr. Mar owns and operates his own commercial design firm. He has won at least 5 National and West Coast Region CASE Awards for Excellence in Visual Design.
Eric Stampfli | Instructor
Mr. Stampfli, a Bay Area native, has run a professional advertising photography studio for the past 20 years. Since 1993 he has offered his clients in-studio digital services, from high resolution retouching to film and transparency output. When time permits, he fills in as a retoucher for a New York based service bureau. Some of his clients include Nestle, Coca Cola, Otis Spunkmeyer, Hewlett Packard, Roster-Ops and Specialty Brands.
Don Ross | Instructor
Don received a double major in Journalism & Fine Art Photography at the University of Oregon in 1991, with an emphasis in feature writing and alternative printing processes. After college he moved to San Francisco where he has worked in retail advertising, graphic design and as a product photographer and retoucher. Currently he is the in-house art photographer and imaging specialist at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (www.sfmoma.org) and teaches photography, design and imaging at The Academy of Art University.
Jeff Lubow | Instructor
Jeff Lubow attended the Kansas City Art Institute for his BFA, where he studied New Media and Experimental Radio/Sound/Film/Video/Photo. After living and working in KC for two years, he moved to obtain his MFA in Recording Media at Mills College in Oakland and has been teaching, composing, and researching since.
Jeff began recording for radio in Kansas City, MO, starting out with a company called VideoPost. Since then, he has worked with production houses the likes of MK12, New Ear, TKG, Habitat Media, and MVFG. He has worked as a programmer and adviser with numerous composers of Electronic music, built websites for various video and audio applications, and continues to work on his personal projects. His experience with sound and video has only broadened his working knowledge of the medium. He finds the two disciplines to inform each other, engaging in a harmonious juxtaposition.
With respect to video and sound, Jeff has over a decade of expertise to offer in Adobe After Effects, Flash, ECMA Script, Final Cut Pro, Maya, ProTools, DyAxis, SoundEdit, Logic Pro, Reason, Peak, Cubase, various audio synthesis languages. Jeff currently teaches in the Advertising, Motion Pictures & Television, and New Media Departments of the Academy of Art University.
Johanna Rogers | Instructor
Bio coming soon.
Frank Pietronigro | Instructor
Frank Pietronigro graduated from SF Art Institute with a BFA and then studied in the Multimedia program at SFSU, receiving a certificate in Digital Design and Production. Frank worked as the Director of SF Arts Commission Festival, and directed the 39th Annual San Francisco Arts Festival. Frank also worked at Landor Associates, The Discovery Channel, Turner Broadcasting Services and Masterworks Multimedia. Frank is an accomplished fine artist with extensive exhibition history in painting, installation and public art.
David Scarpelli | Instructor
David (DC) Scarpelli is a Senior Designer with Diablo Custom Publishing in Walnut Creek, California. He is also a sometime book artist with pieces in the Artists’ Book collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Mr. Scarpelli’s background is in the theater. He studied playwrighting and acting at Yale University, his first alma mater. For the last 10 years, he has been an impresario of Doctor Emile’s Theatre Tremendo, a Bay Area theater company for which he writes, produces, directs, designs and acts. David is a graduate of the Academy of Art University, obtaining a 2nd BFA in Computer Arts New Media.
Haydn Adams | Instructor
Haydn Adams is an Academy of Art University alumn, holding a BFA degree in Computer Arts New Media. He has been in the industry of new media & graphic design for nearly 15 years and currently operates his own design business, Nautilus Designs, in Marin County. Haydn has also served on the National Executive Committee of the Graphic Artists Guild for 4 years. In addition to his design background, Haydn is a wine expert and a published author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek & Alexander Valley.
Michael Squibb | Instructor
Mr. Squibb is a graduate of the Academy of Art University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Computer Arts New Media. He is a freelance Art Director and Designer, living and working in San Francisco for boutique ad agencies. He has worked on campaigns for Disney, Miramax, Dockers, Electronic Arts, Reebok, WaMu, ABC, ABC.com, ABC Family, Hilton and Samsung. Focused on “giving through creativity,” Mr. Squibb brings his agency insight and mantra of giving back into the classroom, preparing his students for the unique challenges they will face in their lives and careers as New Media Designers.
Marc Simon | Instructor
Mr. Simon has been a professional photographer for the last 30 years, specializing in studio work, and for nearly the last 20 years has been doing digital photo-illustration work for editorial and advertising clients, working with Adobe Photoshop. He started his career in Chicago working for catalog studios, moving to San Francisco in 1980. Since 1989 he has operated his own commercial studio, doing both assignment and stock work. Marc is a member of Advertising Photographers of America and Stock Artists Alliance.
Andrea Pimentel| Instructor
Bio coming soon.
Alexander Tarrant | Instructor
Alexander graduated from the Academy of Art in 2002, winning “Best in Show” at the New Media Spring Show, and an Adobe Design Achievement Award. He has since gained experience in the diverse fields of motion graphics, broadcast design, toy design and prototyping, documentary filmmaking, and animated performance visuals for musicians such as Aesop Rock. He was most recently Director of Creative Services at Upper Playground Enterprises in San Francisco, creating short films, live art / music events, and original art installations.
Colin Sebestyen | Instructor
Bio coming soon.
Rose Hodges | Instructor
Rose Hodges has been a Freelance Professional Photographer in San Francisco since 1986. She specializes in Advertising, Still Life, Food, People, Lifestyle and Wedding Photography.
Since 1994, Rose has been a part-time photography instructor at the Academy of Art University teaching Photography, Digital Photography, Composition and Design, and View Camera and Still Life for the schools of Graphic Design, New Media, Photography and Advertising, respectively.
Rose has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Graphic Design. She uses View, Medium Format and 35mm SLR cameras in her work. She has curated and founded Art Shows for the Association of Photographers of America and is on the Board of the APA. Her awards include: Graphis, Pro Bono Center for the Arts, and the APA.
