Member Profile: Emily Kim
1. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?
I have been a Professor of Graphic Design in the Department of Art at Sam Houston State University in Texas for 17 years. I am a digital media artist and experimental designer who explores art, science, technology, and culture.
2. What was your first job?
My first job was as a Graphic Designer at Ja-il Department Store in Soul, South Korea.
3. Where did you complete your formal education?
I received a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in Experimental design and Multimedia at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA.
4. How did you first get involved with ACM SIGGRAPH?
My thesis art piece was accepted in the Art Gallery in 2004. Since then, I have attended SIGGRAPH conferences for many years.
5. What is your favorite memory of a SIGGRAPH conference?
There are so many great memories to choose from, but my art piece in the Art Gallery in Los Angeles in 2004 was the most memorable year. Experiencing and exploring Incredibles artworks, technologies, talks, events, and experts in SIGGRAPH was always exciting to me.
6. Describe a project that you would like to share with the ACM SIGGRAPH community.
I would like to share my presentation, DEI In Graphic Design Education: How A Diversity Poster Can Bring Student Empowerment, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Talks at SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 in Daegu, South Korea. This presentation strives for graphic designer’s social responsibility for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Graphic Design education demands DEI subject matter in class projects: to broaden students’ cultural understanding and provide access to DEI education to students in smaller communities. It is critical that we embrace diverse perspectives in graphic design and bring attention to the multinational audiences who we communicate with through the language of design. This presentation highlights student work; how students in our small community in Huntsville, Texas, highlight their identities, bring forth their diverse cultural backgrounds, and engage in a wide array of topics ranging from race, gender identity, religion, social class, sexual orientation, political background, and more. Students conduct research and express themselves with visual metaphors and storytelling through the conduit of illustrative approaches in poster design: the Diversity Poster.
7. If you could have dinner with one living or non-living person, who would it be and why?
I would have dinner with my daughter, who is my most proud and forever friend.
8. What is something most people don’t know about you?
People may not know that I like listening to music and watching action and science fiction movies.
9. From which single individual have you learned the most in your life? What did they teach you?
I have learned from my mom and daughter a lot. My mom taught me the biggest lessons of all in my life, diligence, perseverance, and respect. My daughter taught me to love every day in life.
10. Is there someone in particular who has influenced your decision to work with ACM SIGGRAPH?
The person who has influenced my decision to work with DEI Committee in SIGGRAPH is Tony Baylis. Tony and I had a good conversation after my presentation at SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, and he invited me to join the DEI Committee. I have been involved as a member of the DEI Committee at my university for a few years and am passionate about serving on the committee in SIGGRAPH as well.
11. What can you point to in your career as your proudest moment?
The proudest moment in my career is seeing students’ growth through education. So it is an incredible moment to see my students’ abilities, skills, and portfolios in the senior student exhibition and realize how much they have grown up in the past three years.