Jason W. Howell received his MFA from the University of Oklahoma in 2001. He has
taught design and typography at Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma,
Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Oral Roberts University. As an educator,
Howell integrates traditional design techniques with contemporary technology to solve
complex communication problems. In and out of the classroom, his passion for and
focus on typographic practice is helping to reestablish design principles in media
forms such as digital tablet/mobile publications, online advertising, motion graphics
and interactive applications.
As a designer whose clients include Crownline Boats, SwimTulsa, Oklahoma State
University Alumni Association and Southern Illinois University Carbondale School
of Art and Design, Howell has received awards from Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) and
American Advertising Federation (ADDY) Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals
chapter. As a lecturer and author, Howell has spoken at "Design: Refining Our Knowledge:
International Graphic Design Education Conference," "AIGA Intent/ Content Graphic
Design Educator's Conference," and “Mid-America College Art Association’s TECHNE
Conference.” Howell has lent his expertise as a textbook and manuscript reviewer
for Pearson and Lawrence King publishers and has authored multiple textbooks for
charter school art courses.
As an advocate for typographic principles in the visual arts, Howell produces fine
art prints using screen printing and letterpress techniques. His most recent series,
Persona non Grata uses abstraction, cropping and color to highlight subtle anatomical details of
personified letterform nomenclature. Persona non Grata's functional goal is to bring attention to the overlooked beauty of letterforms through
a blend of design technology, elements, principles and historical reference. As a
proponent for an exhibition of faith in artistic practice, he also produces a series
of postmodern scriptural prints entitled Logos. In 2017, Howell received an ORU President’s Research Grant to fund student collaborative,
multilingual Logos typographic prints that feature a modern approach to biblical verses relevant to
the Spirit Empowered Movement and the founding mission of ORU.
Howell has participated in several juried exhibitions, including the prestigious
Los Angeles Printmaking Society's Layers of Identity II Exhibition held at Arena One Gallery, Santa Monica, California, the Marin Society
of Artists Fresh Art exhibition at the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross California, Multiple Impressions / Printmaking at the Springfield (IL) Arts Association gallery, K Space Contemporary’s Third Coast National in Corpus Christi, TX, and NEGATIVE SPACE at Mainline Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Howell has also exhibited at Maiden Alley Cinema
in Paducah, Kentucky, the University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale,
and the PAC Gallery at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2001
he was awarded the TG Mays Purchase Award by the Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art in Norman,
Oklahoma.
In 2016 Howell was invited to become an ArtistINC Tulsa fellow hosted by the Mid-America
Arts Alliance, Oklahoma Visual Artist Coalition (OVAC), Tulsa Community College,
Tulsa Film & Music Office, and the Oklahoma Arts Council. Sponsored by the George
Kizer Family Foundation, the Loebeck-Taylor Foundation and Tulsa Community College
the extended program assembled and prepared artists from several genres to advance
their professional art careers.
Howell currently teaches graphic design, typography and web design, and also serves as a faculty advisor for the design of ORU’s yearbook, Perihelion, and newspaper, Oracle. His educational goal is to help mold students into designers who can solve complex communication problems through creative solutions that transcend time, media and culture.
He is a current and/or former member of College Art Association, as well as the American
Center for Design (now UCDA), FATE, Foundations in Art: Theory and Education, the
Mid-America College Art Association (CIVA), Christians in the Visual Arts and AIGA,
the professional association of design.
For more information, please visit point918.com.