UK Professor's Emoji-inspired Design and Typography Work Makes STA 100
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 11, 2019) — University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Design Mia Cinelli's work has been honored as one of the STA 100, the finest examples of communication design and typography created around the world recognized by The Society of Typographic Arts (STA).
The STA brings the design community together by inviting and encouraging all creative professionals to help build a community through social, educational and networking opportunities. The society is dedicated to pursuing excellence in all forms of communication through events, activities, conferences and publications, as well as the STA 100 competition, now in its 40th year.
The competition jury of Ellen Lupton, Matthew Hoffman, Meriah Garrett and Aarron Walter selected 2019's best examples of typographic excellence.
Cinelli’s STA 100 award-winning designs, Speculative Characters for Visual Inflection, illustrated new punctuation to formally articulate meaning through gesture and expression. Drawing from the age of emojis — which use images to bolster our typographic voices — Cinelli designed new letterforms inspired by facial expressions, hand gestures and metaphors to better inform visual inflection. These new characters are proposed to supplement our existing typefaces, attempting to make the rich complexities of verbal (and nonverbal) conversation visible.
Cinelli joined the faculty at UK School of Art and Visual Studies in fall of 2017. Previously she served as an assistant professor and gallery director at Defiance College for three years. Cinelli earned her bachelor’s degree in graphic communication from Northern Michigan University's School of Art and Design and a master’s degree in art + design from Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design at University of Michigan.
This is the second time work by Cinelli has been recognized by STA, but the first time listed under her own name. Previously, Cinelli was also awarded a Graphis Silver Award for Typeface Design for her typeface Fayette.
The UK School of Art and Visual Studies at the College of Fine Arts offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studio, art history and visual studies, art education, and digital media design.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.