Crystal Ann Mitchell, is a creative visual/graphic design executive with a solid background in areas of development and management of design across multiple mediums and platforms. She has multi-disciplinary experience in all aspects of design and moves fluidly between academia and industry. She served as Program Chair of Design at the Art Institute of Las Vegas and has worked for Roland Corporation, U.S., NBC Interactive and MTV Networks in New York.

 

She is a 15 year industry professional, graduate student, teaching professional and musician. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Web Design & New Media from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Her MFA thesis work focused on education technology as a support tool to student success and academic readiness. She also has a Master of Science in Communications Design from Pratt Institute in New York City. She is inspired by everything and lives by the motto, Trust yourself. Push creative boundaries.

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Recommendations

Crystal served as an intern during her MFA program resurrecting an Open Educational Resources project that began 4 years prior. Crystal went above and beyond to produce the deliverables which included: a list of OER, a rubric and tip sheet for finding good content, and feedback form for curated content.  Additionally, she provided a high-fidelity wireframe for a re-designed web page.  Crystal was proactive throughout her internship.  She was present, available and maintained consistent communication of project status and needs. Her work helped renew interest in OER and the formation of a cross departmental UNLV TaskForce exploring OER possibilities campus-wide.  It has been a sincere pleasure working with Crystal in this capacity and it showcased her attention to detail, work ethic and excellence that she brings with her creative background and art expertise.
-Elizabeth R. Barrie, Ph.D. Director, Office of Online Education, -Nicole Hudson, Ed.D. Associate Director of Campus Relations Office of Online Education

For class, Crystal prepares assignments, readings, lectures, discussion topics, and mentors students as they work independently in lab time. She engages with students while displaying professionalism, subject matter expertise, and great skill. She is also a good colleague. She has served as a representative for Part-Time Instructors on the Department of Art Curriculum Committee, and she attends and participates in our department community meetings where we discuss pedagogy and department operations. In the especially difficult time of quarantine and social distancing, Crystal has remained committed and optimistic. She sees this time as an opportunity to reimagine and redesign education, starting with an emphasis on improved communication and learning management. Students find Crystal clear, patient, caring, enthusiastic, thoughtful, knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and always willing to help. They find her syllabi and prompts challenging and creative, with plenty of room for self-expression. They note that Crystal brings real-world problems into the classroom, so they find her courses useful overall and relevant to their job pursuits. They feel comfortable to step out of their comfort zones and explore new things in class.  -Marcus Civin, Former Professor and Chair UNLV Department of Art 

Working with Crystal to develop the design for the Women of Color Arts Festival was what a collaborative creation process should look like: open, connected, imaginative. Crystal is more than a designer, she is a visual storyteller. Her process includes listening to the whole arch of the idea to support the image. The smallest details were valued and necessary to Crystal’s process of development. This inclusive wide net listening, transcended image into a communal story.
– Elizabeth Colón Nelson, Women of Color Arts Festival

Crystal Ann was a fantastic department director. She was professional on all levels, however, there was never any doubt that her objective was to provide a solid platform of holistic support for academic achievement within the department, among the faculty, and for the students. Crystal Ann was clear about objectives but never wavered in her personal investment to facilitate our department achievements. In short, Crystal Ann kept an open-door policy, was always welcoming of new ideas, invited dialogue, and worked tirelessly to implement innovative strategies based on solid learning theory. Even when the administration doubled, and then tripled her responsibilities by adding additional design departments to her professional jurisdiction, she continued to find the time to hear and seek new avenues to expand educational excellence. Additionally, Crystal Ann fully supported each and every opportunity that faculty proposed for their own personal growth and development. I appreciated this so much when I was offered an opportunity to write curriculum for another college which meant having to say goodbye. There was never any doubt that Crystal Ann had everyone’s best interest at the forefront of her objectives regardless of where their journey took them. Her warmth, kindness, and dedication to each and every one of us was unquestionable. Any institution looking to add Crystal to their education faculty or administrative offices would be gaining an incredibly valuable member and a leader in the field of design and education. – Shellie Gardner M. Ed.

To whom it may concern, During my time at The Art Institute Crystal Mitchell was an imperative part of my, as well as many other students, professional growth and development. Crystal continuously finds ways to connect with students and in the process help them to not only understand but appreciate the value of the curriculum in a real world context. Crystal has always offered insights and direction to myself and other students, that really allows our quality of work to develop and measure up to the quality of that in the market. She has always been able to stay on the pulse of Advertising and Design and therefore is able to keep the curriculum progressive and current. Crystal has been a great instructor, mentor, and counselor. It’s with a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation that I share these sentiments. look forward to collaborating with Crystal in some capacity in the future. Sincerely – Ted Lamisere

Thank you so much for pushing me past my limits. You have been such a great inspiration and role model. – Lisette Nunez

Thank you so much for all of your support and guidance over the last 3.5 years of my college journey. As an instructor and Academic Director you have challenged me, pulled strings, and created opportunities for me to be the best designer I can be. I hope you continue to inspire students with your unique perspective, Thank you again for helping me get to where I am today and will be in the future. – Chelsea Caceres

I had the pleasure of being a student of Crystal, in a number of her introductory and middle tier classes. Her lessons and projects where insightful and always challenged me to come up with creative solutions. It is very important when first starting out in design—to learn what the “rules”; are and then how/when to creatively break them. Crystal did a wonderful job of imparting these concepts to myself and my classmates. As the Director of the Graphic Design program, Crystal was both my advocate and a great resource for direction. Because of her genuine care in my educational journey, I was able to overcome some fairly complex obstacles and complete my education with honors. And because of her candor and approachability, it was never uncomfortable to ask her questions and advice. I highly recommend taking one of Crystal’s classes and working with her. – Gedalya Krycer

Having Crystal Mitchell as a design instructor during college was a great opportunity for me. Being well-versed in the graphic design industry, she was able to share her knowledge through the lessons taught in her classroom. She demonstrated a genuine interest in assisting her students and continuously challenged us to familiarize ourselves with current design practices in order to “break the grid”.  The lessons taught in her class are still applicable in my career today as a designer. – Crystal Torres