The Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education (AACSRE), in an effort to fuel the next generation of study on on-premise signage, has announced the first class of emerging fellows. The class consists of three distinguished individuals that have a broad capacity for research and passion for signage. In making the announcement, Dr. Dawn Jourdan, chairperson of the AACSRE Board of Directors, noted “We are excited to welcome these newcomers to AACSRE. I know they will enhance knowledge development in this field of research.”
Since AACSRE’s establishment in 2015, the organization has worked to define and implement an Emerging Fellows Program with a focus on expanding the thought leadership impacting on-premise signage. The three diverse disciplines being highlighted with this class are: Graphic Design and Color (Dr. Sundar), the Impact of Infographics on Signage (Dr. Eric Ragan), and the Economic Impact of On-premise Signage in Urban Business Districts (Ms. Dalton McClellan, MA Candidate).
AACSRE’s Emerging Fellows Committee is chaired by Dr. Steven Kopp of the University of Arkansas. Dr. Kopp commented “We were delighted with the quality of the applicants. The cross-disciplinary nature of the research to be supported by these grants is exciting and truly consistent with AACSRE’s mission to advance the science and technology of on-premise signage.”
Dr. Aparna Sundar is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon. She has extensive industry experience in market research and design. Aparna was a consultant at IPSOS where she conducted consumer research and in-store intercepts to understand shopper behavior and brand perceptions. She translated primary and secondary data into actionable recommendations linking objectives to strategy. Her research focused on in-store design, graphics and the effects of color on branding. She worked with clients such as P&G, Target, Wal-Mart, Hershey’s, Kellogg, PepsiCo and Unfi. As a designer, Aparna worked in retail, translating concepts to design for clients such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, J C Penny, Macy’s, AT&T, Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Michaels. Aparna earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati (Lindner College of Business and College of Design Art Architecture and Planning).
Dr. Eric Ragan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M University. He heads the Interactive Data and Immersive Environments (INDIE) research group and he is faculty lead of the Visualization Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCI-VIZ). His research involves the design and evaluation of visualizations and interaction techniques in the areas of information visualization, data analysis systems and virtual reality. His work focuses on the study of human memory and understanding of information. Dr. Ragan received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech.
Kelsey Dalton McClellan is a graduate student in the Art Administration and Policy program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is co-owner of the Chicago-based sign painting business, Heart & Bone Signs and is dedicated to supporting the growth of local entrepreneurs and small business development in urban Chicago through the craft of hand painted signs. Her thesis focus is on the cultural and economic impact of signage in urban business districts. Through her research, she has supported advocacy efforts for sign permitting reform in the city of Chicago. She holds a BFA from the University of Colorado.
More information about the Emerging Fellowship Program and the backgrounds of the 2017 Class of Fellows are available on the Web site, www.aacsre.org and any questions or comments can be directed to Patty Herbin, Executive Director. AACSRE looks forward to working with Dr. Sundar, Dr. Ragan, and Ms. Kelsey Dalton McClellan and welcomes them to the AACSRE team.
