Pleased to Present:

Senior Graphic Designer | Programming Director, AIGA DC

Aprile Smith is a Senior Graphic Designer, where she spearheads corporate initiatives with precision and creativity. With over a decade of diverse design experience spanning both in house and agency environments, Aprile brings a wealth of expertise to the table, applying an editorial eye and strategic visual perspective to the intersection of business strategy and creative expression.

Whether crafting marketing campaigns or independent branding for small businesses, Aprile treats every project as a cohesive visual system. Her design philosophy is rooted in intentional curation, where sharp typography and purposeful whitespace drive the narrative.

Deeply invested in the creative community, she currently serves on the AIGA DC board as Programming Director and previously served as the Design for Good Chair. Aprile holds an M.A. in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore and a B.S. in Computer Science from The Lincoln University (PA), a background that bridges technical precision with strategic, human centered design.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Aprile finds joy in cherishing moments with her husband and two children. When she is away from her desk, she is usually out exploring local parks, grabbing coffee, hunting for thrifty treasures, or spotting unique typography on city signage.

Assistant Professor, George Mason University School of Art

Pierre Bowins is an Assistant Professor at the George Mason University School of Art. With more than twenty years of industry experience, he prepares students for emerging trends in contemporary art and design through research-based methods that unite analog and digital media while guiding the discovery of personal, cultural, and historical identities.

As an educator, design historian, writer, and maker, Bowins focuses his research on addressing historical imbalances and uncovering the contributions of Black American designers omitted from design history. He actively collects and exhibits archival works by notable Black design pioneers across educational institutions. Additionally, Bowins serves as President of the Board for the Frederick Book Arts Center and is a co-author and co-curriculum designer for Black Design in America: African Americans and the African Diaspora in Graphic Design from the 19th through the 21st Century, an acclaimed BIPOC-centered history course series adapted into print. He holds an AA from the Maryland College of Art & Design, A BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Associate Professor of Graphic Design, Wonsook Kim School of Art and Design

Katie Krcmarik is an associate professor of graphic design at the Wonsook Kim School of Art and Design at Illinois State University. She began her career as a graphic designer working in both studio and in-house environments, developing print and digital work for clients including John Deere Landscapes, Weight Watchers, and other organizations. Her research explores design history, equity, and bias, with a particular interest in revealing the hidden dynamics that shape our world through a feminist lens. Her research on women in the Federal Art Project’s Poster Division was published in Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design History. Katie is active in the national design community through her service with AIGA, having served as president of AIGA Nebraska, co-chair of the Design Educators Community (DEC), and currently serving as incoming President’s Council chair.