Eric Benson

Eric Benson is an American designer, author, and educator. He is Chair of the Graphic Design Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also is the co-founder of the Fresh Press Agri-Fiber Paper Lab, where he explores sustainable papermaking using corn stover, soy stalks, prairie grasses, and other waste fibers from local farms.

Early life and education

Benson was born in Arizona and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1998. His MFA thesis at the University of Texas became the sustainable design non-profit Re-nourish.

Career

Benson's research at the University of Illinois^[1] asks three connected questions. How can the graphic design profession (academic and corporate) work more effectively towards sustainability? What should the graphic designer make now and into the future to ensure positive social change, a healthy economy, and a clean planet? Is systems thinking a viable theory of practice that the graphic designer can employ in both an academic and a professional setting?^[2]

Benson's research and teaching is explored more deeply in his 2016 book on systems thinking and graphic design entitled "Design to Renourish:Sustainable Graphic Design in Practice"^[3] published by CRC Press. Eric's writing also appears in academic design journals and has provided three chapters for design books.

Benson has won two AIGA design awards,^[4] and some of his work has been displayed at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Hammer Museum, The Walker Art Center, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.^[5]

References