I’m Annika. That’s pronounced like “money-ka” just without the m.
I’m a designer, thinker, tinkerer, and teacher with over 20 years of experience in the graphic design industry. I’m transgender; I identify as non-binary trans female and my preferred pronouns are she/her and they/their. I’m also neurodivergent: late-diagnosed ADHD and Autism, a crazy combination sometimes referred to as AuDHD. Some people think it’s a superpower.
My design practice and research is focused on the role of communication design in human-computer interaction (specifically electronic learning systems) and the visibility and acceptance of marginalized people at the intersection of Autism, ADHD and LGBTQ+ communities.
I received my MFA in Communication Design from the Braunschweig University of Art in Germany. I moved to the United States in 1998 to further my career in branding and design, and I’ve worked for large brand consultancies in New York City as well as smaller marketing communications firms and agencies in both the United States and Germany. I co-founded VoxPop LLC, a Denver, CO based startup that produced mobile voice training applications for transgender people.
Before accepting the appointment to UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art I’ve taught branding and graphic design at the Miami Ad School Atlanta (formerly Portfolio Center), the Creative Circus, and at GSU’s Ernest G.Welch School of Art & Design in Atlanta. I’ve also been a Professor of Graphic Design at the Savannah campus of SCAD.
My specialties include brand strategy, visual identity systems and brand mark design, website and mobile app design, typography, print collateral and information graphics.
Beyond the label of “graphic designer” I consider myself to be an artist. I’m also a certified yoga and meditation instructor at the 500-hour level.