Derek Witucki

Derek Witucki is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design in the Department of Visual and Performing Art at PennWest Edinboro. Professor Witucki is a graphic designer specializing in typography and editorial design. Professor Witucki’s work extends into type design—designing and producing fonts for editorial and scientific uses. Teaching typography to students at Edinboro, Derek helps students see and understand type as a raw material for communication and to contend with the challenges inherent to typographic and visual communication. Derek has also worked on publications at all levels—as printer, designer, writer, and as editor—and has a passion for sharing mass communication principles and processes in the classroom. He teaches students how to produce zines, magazines, and books—as well as experimental and exploratory forms of mass-media ephemera.

Derek sees design as a process necessitating research and investigation. He asks his students to tackle uncertainty in design problems—and problems in life—through the processes of play, mindfulness, and analysis. In his own practice, Derek has a keen interest in design for science communication. At Edinboro, Derek has worked with students to develop installations and posters for PennWest Edinboro’s Institute for Forensic Sciences. He has previously designed and installed interpretive, educational signage for Reflection Riding Nature Center and Arboretum in Chattanooga, TN; and, at the Chattanooga Challenger Center, Derek worked with students to design and install a mural celebrating the center’s educational mission and serving as a point for reflection on the center’s learning experiences by celebrating the breadth of careers supported by broad-based knowledge and critical thinking skills.