Mariah Barden Jones

Mariah Barden Jones is an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where she teaches within the VCU School of the Arts. She holds an MFA in Design with a concentration in visual communications from VCU and a BFA in Graphic Design from Virginia Tech. Her role is part-time, reflecting her active engagement beyond academia in design, art, and publishing.

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Design, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design, Virginia Tech

Her research and creative practice centers on themes of impermanence, memory, identity, and the interplay between the tangible and intangible. Working across graphic design, digital art, and publishing, she explores how narratives shape identity and how cognitive shifts alter perception. Her interests include lo-fi aesthetics, zine culture, DIY publishing, postmodern design, and the emotional resonance of digital media. She often investigates how personal and collective memories are constructed and mediated through design.

The body of her recent work reveals a strong trend in using design as a form of research and critical inquiry. Her projects span web-based art, symposia, installations, and publications, often blurring the line between artistic expression and scholarly investigation. Topics include reality TV as design research, suburban nihilism, and the emotional softness in digital culture—illustrating a deep engagement with contemporary visual and digital culture.

Mariah Barden Jones is actively involved in mentoring and organizing through creative initiatives rather than formal academic advising. She co-organizes Desire Paths, a symposium on design and publishing, and runs clique books, a platform for hand-coded, web-based work. These projects function as alternative educational and collaborative spaces, fostering community and experimental publishing.

She has been involved in numerous creative and educational grants and commissions, including projects for Catbird, Are.na, Studio Louka, and 18 Olives. Her work often integrates funding from cultural and artistic sources, though specific grant names are not listed. Her practice is supported through client work, institutional collaborations, and self-initiated publishing.

Mariah leads clique books and co-organizes Desire Paths with Raegan Bird—both serving as creative labs and collectives that explore independent publishing, networked knowledge, and design experimentation. These platforms act as her primary research and production teams, enabling collaborative work across design, writing, and event curation.