Kenneth Smith

Focus and Philosophy: Graphic design is a challenging career choice. It often involves long hours, hair-raising deadlines, and the necessity to work with all sorts of people. The field of graphic design demands resilience, and Smith structures his courses to mirror real-world expectations—prioritizing timeliness, and professional practice from the start, and a daily dedication to elevating the quality of students’ work. It’s hard, but it’s fun.

Background: In college, Smith vacillated between graphic design and painting, but upon graduation, he took a job as a “design assistant” at a tiny publishing company. Over the next twenty years, that little company grew into a fledgling media conglomerate named Whittle Communications, and Smith became an Art Director, and then Design Director/vice president, working on hundreds of varied media properties. Smith followed this assignment with ten years as founding partner of Media South, a boutique design firm in Knoxville, Tennessee, specializing in custom publishing and corporate branding. In 2008 Smith became a graphic design professor at Radford University.

Teaching: Graphic design is not for everyone. Smith approaches students as creative peers, eager to learn new skills and explore new ideas as they bring their graphic visions to life. This shared, hands-on approach fosters artistic, professional, and personal growth and encourages the lifelong learning that is essential to a graphic design career.

Creative Work: Ken Smith is a history buff, so most of his creative work revolves around historical illustration and design. He has illustrated many covers for boardgames and magazines, mostly on World War Two subjects, and he is graphic designer for the Great War Commander boardgame series. Smith also exhibits his work in both regional and national art exhibitions and has won the Coast Guard Art Program’s prestigious George Gray award on four occasions, with his paintings showcasing the many missions of the United States Coast Guard.

For more information about Ken Smith please open the tabs below. If you would like a digital copy of his complete CV, please contact him at ksmith507@radford.edu.