Dan Bittman: 2011 AIGA Cincinnati Fellow
The Fellow award program is a means of recognizing mature designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct within their local or regional design community as well as in their local AIGA chapter. The areas of education, writing, leadership and reputation, as well as the practice of design are given equal consideration in measuring significant contribution.
Dan Bittman first joined AIGA in 1970 is a past president of AIGA Cincinnati from 1988-1992, as well as past president of The Art Directors Club of Cincinnati. He has lectured across the country at numerous colleges, universities and professional gatherings including the 1991 AIGA National Conference and the IDSA Worldesign ’85.
Dan Bittman earned a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design in 1970 from the University of Cincinnati. He founded his studio, Design Team, in 1981 and has taught graphic design at Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati where he also served on the Alumni Advisory Board. He currently teaches graphic design at AIC College of Design and is the faculty advisor for the school’s AIGA Student Group.
Dan Bittman’s work has been the subject of articles in publications such as Metropolis, ID, Print and Communications Arts Magazine; and has been recognized with inclusion in permanent collections in France and China and awards from numerous exhibitions including CA, AIGA, CLIO and ID.
He has served as a juror for AIGA Cincinnati, The Art Directors Club of Cincinnati and advertising competitions across the country as well as the prestigious Communication Arts Magazine CA Annual.
Mike Zender: 2009 AIGA Cincinnati Fellow
Mike Zender received a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) in 1973 and later received an MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University in 1977. Mike Zender was also the former partner of Zender + Eberhard Design and the founder and President of Zender + Associates Design in Cincinnati, OH, from 1978-2007. Currently an Associate Professor of Design, Mike Zender is the Interim Director of the School of Design and the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Cincinnati’s College of DAAP.
Kenneth Botts: 2008 AIGA Cincinnati Fellow
Kenneth Botts is the founding partner of Visual Marketing Associates (VMA), launched in 1985. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Botts earned a BFA degree in graphic design from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Upon graduation, he moved to Southwestern Ohio when he was recruited as assistant art director for Cincinnati Magazine, published by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. After approximately two years, during which he advanced to art director/production manager, Botts accepted an offer to join the Design Center at Dayton-based Huffy Corporation. There, he held several positions at the corporation over a five-year period, including: art director, Huffy Corporation; design manager, Raleigh Cycle Company of America/Gerico, Inc.; and manager, corporate design, Huffy Corporation. Botts resigned as manager, advanced product development, and creative design director at Huffy Bicycle Division to continue his career at his own design cosultancy, VMA.
Over the years and in each position, Botts has provided environments that have helped to launch the careers of numerous junior designers through his support of co-op and internship programs. Since VMA’s inception, Botts has instituted a design-driven branding approach to addressing client’s opportunities, engaging the firm’s multidisciplinary (graphic design, industrial design and marketing) capabilities. VMA has supported numerous local, national and international organizations to assist in product development, product packaging and communicating of marketing/sales messages through environmental, digital and print vehicles. A partial list of those clients include Aero Products International, Audiovox Accessories Corporation, Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm, Aviation Heritage Foundation, Crown Equipment Company, Gerry Baby Products Company, InGEAR Corporation, JMB Retail Properties, MeadWestvaco Corporation, NewPage Corporation, PQ Systems, Inc., Senco Products, Suncast Corporation and W. C. Bradley, Inc.
Building upon his educational and professional experiences, Botts has focused on developing collaborative relationships between interdisciplinary creative entities that has lead to additional opportunities that complement the expertise of VMA. In 2000, he joined a partnership that developed the Firefly Building, a mixed-use rehabilitation project in Dayton, encompassing luxury residential condominiums and commercial lease space marketed to the creative industries. Another collaborative venture includes the Litehouse project, that features green, affordable homes aimed at developing a new benchmark for the residential building industry. These collaborative relationships have broadened Botts’ scope to encompass architecture, digital design, graphic design, industrial design and marketing.
Botts is a past board member of AIGA Cincinnati, in addition to serving on numerous subcommittees for the local chapter. He also has taught periodically in the Department of Art (Graphic Design) and Department of Architecture at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He resides in Germantown, Ohio, with his wife, Jo Ann, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah.
Tim Smith: 2008 AIGA Cincinnati Fellow
Tim Smith is principal and creative director of Tim Smith Design. He has held vice-president and director roles at some of the largest design firms in the United States, including FRCH Design Worldwide, RPA (now Fitch), marchFIRST and LPK. He has served as president of the AIGA Cincinnati chapter and the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA), as well as vice president of Art Center Dayton. He also served on the board of directors for AIGA Cincinnati for five years and the board of trustees for CSCA for four years—including one year as chairman. In addition, he has served on several volunteer committees and is currently president of the Greater Cincinnati chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Smith’s work has won many national, regional and local awards and has been published in several leading design and business publications including Graphis, I.D., Print, HOW and BusinessWeek, and was featured as one of the “People to Watch in 1999” by Graphic Design USA. He has served as a juror for national and regional design competitions and has authored and contributed to articles on design.
Smith’s clients have included Apple, BlackBerry, BMW, Charles Schwab, Citibank, Chrysler, Disney, Franklin Covey, General Electric, Hallmark, Harley-Davidson, IBM, Kodak, Lego, Microsoft, Polaroid, Procter & Gamble, Target, Tiffany & Co. and Volkswagen.
Smith has taught or lectured at several colleges and universities, including his alma mater, the Columbus College of Art & Design where he graduated as Outstanding Senior.
