Meet our Professors

Anne Ahmad - Graphic Design Faculty

Anne Ahmad's strength as an instructor lies in her ability to bring real-world examples and industry experience into the classroom setting and inspire students to think about how the theoretical and practical issues of graphic design work together. Anne is a PhD Candidate in Communications at Simon Fraser University and holds a Masters in Publishing from Simon Fraser University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from City University of New York.

In addition to teaching full time at LaSalle College Vancouver, she has also taught design classes for fourth-year Communication students and firstyear Interactive Arts and Technology students at Simon Fraser University. These work situations have given her the opportunity to develop different strategies and styles of teaching from conducting lectures and labs, to organizing hands-on workshops and demos, to facilitating group seminars and discussions and offering in-depth critique on student projects. She enjoys the activity and process of a classroom critique session, in both group settings and on an individual one-on-one basis, and looks for ways to engage students by encouraging them to comment on visual samples and to raise issues and ask questions. She also enjoys organizing mini- portfolio “show & tell” sessions that encourage students to put their work on display to celebrate individual achievements and as their quarter’s successes.

Anne has taught a multitude of theory-based courses that engage critical approaches to media. This range of experience has taught her a lot about the learning process. In working with students on developing their design skills, she places an emphasis on the process of learning and encourages them to think with their pencils to brainstorm concepts before ever sitting down to a computer. Her students are encouraged to start with what they know and expand on this through a variety of research methods including free writing, mind mapping, conscious observation of their cultural surroundings, collection of samples, field trips to locate design trends in different markets, tours of relevant online and real-world sites.