Neeta Verma

Neeta Verma situates herself within the porous discipline of Visual Communication Design. Her areas of research and teaching explore the critical use of design as a tool for social equity and justice. Her work focuses on systemic social issues examined through the lens of power and privilege, and the examination of power structures within social ecologies. She teaches Social Design at the intersection of social innovation and collaborative practices, and Visualization of Data which investigates the aesthetics, ethics, and politics of representation. Her current research projects examine youth violence in urban contexts locally and the design of conducive environments for the visually impaired in India. She received her MFA from Yale University. Her professional design practice of over twenty-five years has focused exclusively on museums, cultural organizations, not-for-profits, and educational institutions. Selected clients include the American Red Cross, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, Liberty Science Center, The New York Botanical Garden, The New York Public Library, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Wildlife Conservation Society. She is the recipient of the Nehru-Fulbright Fellowship. She is also the recipient of several design awards that include the 365 AIGA Year in Design Award, Core77 Design Awards, Graphis, A’Design Awards, International Design Awards, GDUSA, and the Design Incubation Teaching Award. She has been an invited speaker and has presented her research at both national and international conferences. She currently serves on the SEGD Academic Task Force and is a member of the Pluriversal Working Group of the Future of Design Education.

Neeta Verma is an Associate Professor in Visual Communication Design and teaches within the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at the University of Notre Dame. Her areas of research and teaching explore the critical use of design as a tool for social equity and justice. Her work focuses on systemic social issues (wicked problems) examined through the lens of power and privilege, and power structures embedded within social ecologies. Her work embodies principles of practice that expand the canon of the discipline to include global perspectives and pluriversal shifts within contemporary design discourse. She teaches Social Design at the intersection of social innovation and collaborative practices, and Visualization of Data that investigates the aesthetics, ethics, and politics of representation.

She earned her MFA from Yale University and an MDes from the National Institute of Design, India. She holds Faculty Fellowships at the Center for Social Concerns, the Liu Institute for Asia & Asian Studies, and the Pulte Institute for Global Development at the University of Notre Dame. She is also appointed as Affiliate Faculty for The Initiative on Race and Resilience. Her professional design practice of over twenty-five years focused exclusively on museums, cultural organizations, not-for-profits, and educational institutions.

Lead a graphic design firm that works exclusively for museums, cultural organizations, not-for-profits, and educational institutions. Areas of expertise include branding & marketing, print & collateral, exhibit design & signage, and web design/user experience. Selected clients included Whitney Museum of American Art; The New York Botanical Garden; The New York Public Library; Central Park Conservancy; Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum; MIT Press; the American Red Cross; and the Salvation Army.

Adjunct Professor at the Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media [IFDM], College of Fine Arts at UNM. Taught “Fundamentals of Design: An Exploration” and “Creative Design Thinking: Ideation to Implementation” in Spring.