Michael Etter

Current

• Senior Communications Designer at Ziba Design
• Creative Director at re:Active Magazine
• Advisory Board at Street Poets Inc.

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Past

• Senior Graphic Artist at Payless ShoeSource
• Art Director/Designer at ink

Education

• Art Center College of Design
• California State University-Fullerton

Recommended

5 people have recommended Michael

Connections

126 connections

Industry

Design

Websites

• My Portfolio
• my non-profit organization
• My RSS feed

Michael Etter’s Summary

Michael Etter is an artist, educator, and activist who works in—and at the intersection of—graphic arts and publishing, media communications, and grassroots organizing. Michael’s work reflects his personal philosophy, which embraces the punk rock movement/d.i.y. ethic and uses the power of the creative process to transform community life. Motivated by the desire to
improve communications for the organizations he believes in, Michael chose to advance his skills at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In addition to a BFA in Graphic Design with honors from Art Center, he holds an Internet Design Certificate from San Francisco State University’s Multimedia Studies Program, and a BA in Communications and English from California State University Fullerton. He has also interned with Pentagram Design in Los Angeles and SkyrocketWeb Design in San Francisco.

Michael is also the founder of the arts education organization, re:Active. Located in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, re:Active teaches youth the power of the creative process through the production of a zine about cultural issues. The zine serves as an independent voice for local youth. In 2004 youth at re:Active produced their first issue, re:sidue. He is the author and designer of "Long Division", held in the Getty Research Institute’s Book Arts collection and on the slate for release by Gingko Press in 2007.

He has also completed the design of a coffee table style book of old punk rock flyers titled, "Punk is Dead, Punk is Everything" the follow-up to Gingko Press' best-selling, "Fucked Up and Photocopied".

Michael Etter’s Specialties:

publication/editorial design, book design, branding and identity, seasonal/trend direction, magazines, annual report design, music related industries

Michael Etter’s Experience

• Senior Communications Designer

  Ziba Design

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Design industry)

  September 2007 — Present (1 year 11 months)

  branded experience design/consultancy

• Creative Director

  re:Active Magazine

  (Design industry)

  2004 — Present (5 years)

  Director, grant-writer, instructor and evangelist for a youth arts education organization that introduces students to communication design and job possibilities in the creative fields.

• Advisory Board

  Street Poets Inc.

  (Design industry)

  2003 — Present (6 years)

• Senior Graphic Artist

  Payless ShoeSource

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; PSS; Apparel & Fashion industry)

  January 2005 — September 2007 (2 years 9 months)

• Art Director/Designer

  ink

  (Design industry)

  2001 — 2006 (5 years)

Michael Etter’s Education

• Art Center College of Design

  2000 — 2003

• California State University-Fullerton

  B.A. , Communications, English , 2000 — 2003

Additional Information

Michael Etter’s Websites:

• My Portfolio
• my non-profit organization
• My RSS feed

Michael Etter’s Groups:

•    Art Center College of Design Alumni Group
•    AIGA | the professional association for design
•    TED: Ideas Worth Spreading
•    Type Directors Club
•    Design for Social Change
•    Design Ignites Change

Michael Etter’s Honors:

In 2005 with a Sappi Fine Paper “Ideas That Matter” grant, Michael designed
and produced , a book of images and original poetry titled "One Street" by youth and mentors at Dreamyard/LA,an arts-based violence prevention and intervention program.

Type Director's Club Award, (2007) for the NYTimes Magazine - "College Issue"
Communication Arts Design Annual, (2005), "One Street"
I.D. Magazine Design Annual "Design Distinction" for co-art direction & design of "Fishwrap 4" student magazine, (2005)
AIGA 365: 26, for co-art direction & design of "Fishwrap 4" student magazine, (2005)
Print Regional Design Annual, for co-art direction & design of "Fishwrap 4" student magazine, (2005)

9th term Honors – Art Center College of Design, 2004

Michael Etter’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch