Zack Tucker

Zack Tucker is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design in the Department of Art at Miami University's College of Creative Arts. His work centers on using design to address social and political oppression, focusing on collective liberation, equity, and the redistribution of systemic benefits/burdens. He teaches inquiry-based curricula, emphasizing storytelling, speculation, and collaboration to challenge societal norms.

• Education: BFA in Art (Graphic Design & Illustration) from Southeast Missouri State University, MA in Educational/Instructional Technology from Southeast Missouri State, MFA in Graphic Design from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Tucker’s research explores how design can facilitate civic engagement and dismantle systems of oppression, as seen in his Liberation through Design course. He collaborates with interdisciplinary teams, such as Miami University’s Dr. Stephanie Danker and Dr. Elizabeth Hoover, to create experiential learning opportunities like intercultural border crossings revisiting Civil Rights Movement sites. His methodology incorporates collaborative autoethnography and culturegrams to map identity intersections.

His current projects connect historical civil rights efforts (e.g., Freedom Summer 1964) to contemporary design practices, advocating for pluriversal democracy frameworks. Tucker positions classrooms as labs for testing theories of change, prioritizing grassroots action and community partnerships over transient technical skills.