Hello and welcome. My name is Renee Claire Tafoya. I am a professional graphic designer and educator, born in Montana. My design career began in 1976 and over the past 30 years, I have worked variously as an art director, photo stylist, exhibition designer, production manager, editor, illustrator, typesetter, and college teacher. My bachelors degree in Graphic Design and Illustration is from San Jose State University, California. My masters degree in Instructional Technology is from the University of Wyoming.

During the 1980s I worked with Suzanne West and Judy Rose to develop and teach courses in graphics production, typography, and Adobe Illustrator for the University of California Extension, Santa Cruz program in Graphic Design. I am grateful to them for introducing me to curriculum development and encouraging me to become a teacher.

In 1986, I opened Tafoya Design in downtown Santa Cruz California. In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed the city center. My design studio and my community were gone. Instead of reopening, I went to work for Apple Computer in Cupertino as an art director in the Instructional Products division. We were in charge of making the user manuals and packaging for Apple Computer hardware and operating systems. I learned so much at Apple, I wish I had stayed longer, but I was homesick for Montana.

I reopened Tafoya Design in Red Lodge Montana in 1990 – before email and the World Wide Web. My first modem was a top-of-the-line, speedy 14.4k and cost $320. Red Lodge was just too remote for a graphic design studio in those days, so I took a job in Cody Wyoming as the Publications Director for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

I have been teaching graphic design at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming since 1999, but it’s one thing to be a good designer and another to be a good design instructor. I decided to study education, especially adult education and instructional design in an effort to become a better teacher.

My graduate studies were a transforming experience. I’m grateful to the fine instructors and staff at the Department of Adult Learning and Technology at the University of Wyoming and all the men and women with whom I've shared classes and discussions about the future of education. Welcome to my ePortfolio.