About Chris Gargiulo

A Brief Introduction & Bio

I am often asked, "what subject do you teach?" I usually respond by saying, "interface design," which naturally produces a puzzled look on many faces. So sometimes I simplify my answer and say, “web design.” However, this falls way short of what I teach, what I study, and who I am as a person.

The truth is that I am a designer working in multiple domains and media. To be more descriptive: I am a teacher, new media artist, designer, animator, and filmmaker. My professional experience spans print graphic design, web design, front-end interface programming, motion graphics, and animation for various film, web, and multimedia projects. Within these domains, there are two opposite extremes: left-brained programmers and right-brained visual designers. I feel fortunate to be one of those people who enjoy both the left-brained technical programming and the right-brained visual aspects of my field.

Before moving to Hawaii and teaching at KCC, I taught at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Prior to teaching, I worked at various design and advertising companies from New York City to Los Angeles. My last job before becoming a full time educator was as an art director at Samsung’s advertising firm, Cheil Communications America, where I worked on online advertising for Samsung Electronics USA. My client work includes Sony, Samsung, ABC, Warner Brothers, Six Flags, Hasbro, Marvel Comics, Princess Cruises, and others.

I feel fortunate to be one of those people who enjoy both the left-brained technical programming and the right-brained visual aspects of my field.

During my summer breaks, I often work as a freelance designer, doing client-based work for various companies locally and internationally. My most recent projects include a promotional video for Sony, a corporate video for the Baylor-Lesotho Pediatric HIV/AIDS Children’s Center in Lesotho, Africa, and a web site for O’kela, a local electrical contracting company.

As a practicing artist, I periodically create artwork for gallery shows and film festivals. My recent art work & shows include: Google Footprints (algorithmic animation) at the Koa Gallery Faculty Bienniel Show, Digital Stasis (algorithmic animation) at the Digital Artists of Hawai‘i exhibition at Gallery ‘Iolani, Urban Garden (algorithmically generated print) and H3 Google Earth (video) at the Aloha Ho‘omaluhia exhibition, Hanging in the Balance (motion graphics) at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, and The Interim: Intersubjectivity in Short Cinema (live action) at the Parsons Annual Animation and DV Film Festival.

I received my MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design and my BA in Fine Art from Amherst College. As a lifelong student, I perodically take classes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in CIS (Communications & Information Science) and ICS (Information & Computer Science) with a focus on HCI (Human Computer Interaction).

When I am not on campus, I am usually at home spending time with my wife and children. My wife is a child & adolescent psychiatrist and pediatrician at Tripler Medical Center.