Steven Heller and Lita Talarico are co-chairs of the MFA Design program of the School of Visual Arts where students are encouraged to become design entrepreneurs.
LITA TALARICO
Lita Talarico is design and architectural consultant who for over 20 years has worked on multidisciplinary projects including the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC., the Cleveland Museum of Art, the annual jury meeting of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the “Italian Manifesto” conference for IDCA, Aspen. She has held leadership positions with three notable institutions of higher education – Cooper Union, Purchase College and the School of Visual Arts. She was founding managing editor of American Illustration, served as a professional advisor for the General Services Administration, developed international competitions and conferences, and directed architect selection processes. In 1997 she co-founded the MFA Design program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City. She is the co-author of Design Career Practical Knowledge for Beginning Illustrators and Graphic Designers (Van Nostrand Reinhold) and the forthcoming Design School Confidential (Rockport Press).
STEVEN HELLER
Steven Heller is the author, co-author, and editor of over 120 books on design and popular culture. He is the editor of VOICE, the AIGA's online design journal and a contributing writer for Design Observer and The New York Times Campaign Stops blogs. He also writes Print Magazine's The Daily Heller blog. In addition he is a contributing editor to Print, Eye, ID, and Baseline magazines, and writes the "Visuals" column for The New York Times Book Review. For 33 years he was an art director of the New York Times and is currently a
consultant to the Design Director/Assistant Managing Editor. He is the recipient of the 1999 AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement and the 2007 SVA Masters Series Award.
