Art Educator
Debra Valencia has served as a part-time faculty member in the Communication Arts department at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles for over 15 years. Courses she has taught in the past include Basic Design Fundamentals, Typography, Production Technologies, Professional Practice for Graphic Designers and Introduction to Graphic Design.
Debra developed the first college-credited course of its kind, Business of Art Licensing, to teach artists and designers business revenue models particularly royalties, contracts, copyrights and marketing. Since Spring 2013, she has taught the 10-week course at Otis College of Art + Design in Los Angeles as part of the Continuing Education program. Due to popular demand, she is repeating the same course in Spring 2016 for the fourth consecutive year. She also developed the first Digital Surface Design course for Art Center of College of Design in Pasadena in 2013 and will continue with the same offering each Spring semester. Debra has selected, supervised, trained and mentored over 50 student interns from Otis College of Art & Design, Art Center College of Design, California State University/Long Beach, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons, -University of the Arts/Philadelphia, Santa Monica College, University of California/Los Angeles, Art Center and California Institute of the Arts. The students gained real world work experience and were better prepared to enter professional positions. |
Design Industry Expert
Well respected as a design industry expert, Debra has lectured at major institutions and conferences including Harvard University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Cal Poly Tech in San Luis Obispo, AIGA New York, AIGA Los Angeles, Western Regional Conference of the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD) and Art Director’s Clubs of both Washington, DC. and San Diego.
Debra has been invited to portfolio reviews for AIGA/LA, Otis Intern Program and National Portfolio Day. She has served as a judge of her peers in numerous national design competitions for AIGA National, Society of Typographic Arts, and Communication Arts, Print and HOW Magazines.
Recent speaking engagements included Feed Your Brain: Introduction to Art Licensing Business for the 2nd consecutive year at the Craft & Hobby Mega Show, Anaheim California. Debra participated in a panel discussion Blueprint Business Series, Beyond Pricing: Licensing, Equity, Venture Capital and More for AIGA LA in Los Angeles. She has also taught small seminars on the topic of art licensing, marketing and business practices for artists and designers.
Debra has been invited to portfolio reviews for AIGA/LA, Otis Intern Program and National Portfolio Day. She has served as a judge of her peers in numerous national design competitions for AIGA National, Society of Typographic Arts, and Communication Arts, Print and HOW Magazines.
Recent speaking engagements included Feed Your Brain: Introduction to Art Licensing Business for the 2nd consecutive year at the Craft & Hobby Mega Show, Anaheim California. Debra participated in a panel discussion Blueprint Business Series, Beyond Pricing: Licensing, Equity, Venture Capital and More for AIGA LA in Los Angeles. She has also taught small seminars on the topic of art licensing, marketing and business practices for artists and designers.