Home • About •
Introduction
As a designer and educator, I combine verbal and non-verbal elements to create meaning, inspire change, and reflect the human condition. My work focuses on social design, emphasizing advocacy, activism, education, storytelling, and visual narrative or rhetoric.
I began my career as an editorial designer with the Chicago Sun-Times News Group. I later transitioned to social design, working in-house at an educational not-for-profit before founding two social design studios, Tilt Shift and Heart Giants. This work emphasized mission-driven organizations seeking purposeful design.
I am currently an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at East Tennessee State University. I hold an M.F.A. in Visual Communication and a B.A. in History from Northern Illinois University.
Contact
Let’s collaborate. Get in touch.
johnathon@strube.design
Graphic Designer
As a graphic designer, I am a trained generalist who prioritizes a humanities-centered design process, which leads to multidisciplinary visual communication. I collaborate with clients, organizations, colleagues, and students to create context-driven, human-centered work. My practice balances external partnerships, critical making, and self-initiated projects that explore meaning in social contexts and address complex cultural issues. By prioritizing people over artifacts, I aim to create functional, impactful experiences that shape cultural dialogue and benefit society.
Services
Brand Design
Editorial Design
Print Design
UI/UX Design
Web Design
Capabilities
Art Direction
Communication Strategy
Creative Direction
Design Systems
Project Management
Design Educator
As an educator, I empower students to develop their creative agency and produce work that reflects their identity, intellect, and values. They achieve personal and professional growth by developing a rigorous design process that prioritizes civic culture, social awareness, historical context, and ecological imperatives. They pair this mindset with critical thinking and meticulous craft, creating analog, digital, and experiential forms that influence society and change.
Interests
Design Education
Design Pedagogy
Interactive Design
Social Design
Typography
Expertise
Designer Agency
Design Process
Humanity Centered
Social Design
UI/UX Design
Design Researcher
As a researcher, I explore two key questions: How can a graphic designer’s agency and process shape visual communication that reflects the human condition?; How can graphic design education foster socially engaged citizens? These questions guide my practice and teaching, translating a philosophical ethos into theoretical insights, formal investigation, and meaningful outcomes.
Inquiry
Designer Agency
Design Education
Design Process
Ecology
Social Impact
Output
Articles
Artifacts
Panels
Presentations
Publications