Aggie Toppins is an Associate Professor and Chair of Undergraduate Communication Design at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Previously, Toppins taught at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where, for two years, she served as the first female Department Head in Art. Through her studio practice and scholarship, Toppins explores design as a discourse of power. She is interested in social justice, critical histories, and their intersections with studio practice. She received her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2012 and her BS in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning in 2003. She recently moved to St. Louis with her husband Jason, and their silly dog, Ian.

Recently, Aggie has been writing about graphic design historiography—how history is written—and finding that much of the history we’ve inherited reflects either a lack of critical appraisal or serves the imperatives of the field 40 years ago. A topic Aggie loves to discuss with anyone.

Recorded 7.15.2020, Aired 9.7.2020

Links of Note

Where to find Aggie online

Website: aggietoppins.com
Twitter: @aggietoppins
Instagram: @aggietoppins

Mentioned during this podcast

AIGA Article, Can We Teach Graphic Design History Without the Cult of Hero Worship?
Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts: samfoxschool.wustl.edu
Creative Mornings: creativemornings.com/talks/aggie-toppins

Music featured on this Episode

Opening and closing track: “Street Background Vlog Hip-Hop”

Where to find the DESIGN DEDUX podcast

Where to find Pete Bella online

Where to find Amanda Horton online

Website: uco.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mandy-horton
Instagram: @hortonamanda

Contact the DESIGN DEDUX podcast