Phil Hamlett
Director of Graduate Graphic Design

Prior to directing the MFA program at The Academy of Art University, Phil Hamlett was communications director at Turner & Associates, where he identified fundamental client objectives and facilitated the development of the core messages, conceptual frameworks and communications vehicles best suited to address those needs. His extensive experience with a wide variety of corporate communications, investor relations and print collateral materials - for companies both large and small - provides him with the perspective necessary prepare students for the challenges of the real world.

His work for clients such as Yahoo!, Adaptec, Macromedia, Ariba, PeopleSoft, IBM, AT&T, The Coca-Cola Company, Clorox, Seagate Technology, Turner Broadcasting, Nabisco, Dickson's Specialty Printing and Anderson Lithograph can be seen in numerous design publications and award show catalogs.

Prior to joining Turner in 1999, Hamlett was a principal and director of creative services for EAI/Atlanta, where he played a key role in that firm's development. In addition, Hamlett is a regionally and nationally recognized design commentator and competition judge: his Library Journal design book reviews are seen everywhere on the web, and his recent Compostmodern design conference has been well received. A native Atlantan, Hamlett graduated from the University of Georgia/Athens in 1986.

Mary Scott
Executive Director of Graphic Design

For over 25 years, Mary Scott was Vice-President and Director of Creative Operations for Maddocks & Company, a multi-disciplinary firm involved in all phases of communication design. The firm's clients range from Procter & Gamble, Microsoft Web TV, Disney, Platinum Equities, Warner Bros, Columbia TriStar Pictures, Cheseborough-Ponds, Fredericks of Hollywood, Avon, The Limited and Sony.

Mary taught at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena for more than ten years and at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles. During her years at Art Center, she was twice honored with the Center's "Great Teacher Award." After five years at the Academy of Art College (now the Academy of Art University), Mary has been mentioned in 2004 Who's Who Among America's Teachers, an honor she feels is deeply rewarding.

In September of 1999, Mary was named Chair of Graphic Design at the Academy of Art, serving as a department chair and as an instructor. Her mission is to continue developing a curriculum that truly serves the needs of the design student in a rapidly evolving, dynamic profession. In 2000, she assumed the role of Chair of Graphic Design for both the graduate and undergraduate schools.

Since 1998, Mary has served on the National Board of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and is a former Los Angeles Chapter President. At the 1999 AIGA Biennial Conference in Las Vegas, Mary was a speaker at the Student Sessions. Mary was a judge for the 2000 AIGA Enrichment Scholarship and for the AIGA Annual Student Portfolio Days from 2000 through 2004. In 2001, Mary was one of the three judges in the Minneapolis Chapter of the AIGA's Annual Design Show and in March she went to New York to be one of the judges for the 2001 Clio Awards. She has served as Development Chair on the AIGA San Francisco board since 2001.

Mary studied Fine Arts and Foreign Languages at Mt. St. Mary's College in Los Angeles and Environmental Design at the University of California at Los Angeles. She's an avid gardener and a grandmother. She has two grown children, Tara and Tom. One's a doctor, the other an airline pilot — health and trips all taken care of, thank you!

Anitra Nottingham
Online Director of Graphic Design

Anitra is a 1992 graduate of Monash University’s Design School, with a major in computer animation. She started her career in advertising and package design, and in 1996 started to specialize in book design.

Anitra has worked for Oxford University Press Australasia, and Penguin Books Australia. Her book design work has ranged across the publishing spectrum from trade to academic work. She has designed titles for dictionaries and reference, adult fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books. She was short listed for the Australian Book Industry Award in 1998.

After moving to the Bay Area in 1999, Anitra took a position as Creative Director for London Road Design, which was at the time a small design firm specializing in print and online marketing communications for the technology, health and entertainment sectors. After the company disbanded in 2002, Anitra started a freelance design consultancy, and at the same time began teaching design at California State University.

In 2004 she joined Intuit Inc, maker of financial software solutions that include TurboTax, QuickBooks and Quicken. First as a senior member of the in-house design team, then taking the position as Design Director for the Creative Services Team. In this position Anitra was responsible for packaging, corporate communications and marketing solutions company-wide.

Anitra became Online Director for the Graphic Design School at AAU in San Francisco in 2006, and continues to hold the position while now working remotely from Australia.

Hunter Wimmer
Associate Director of Graphic Design

Hunter Wimmer has more than a decade of experience in translating strategic business objectives into innovative, relevant visual solutions. As Marketing Design Director for the influential firm IDEO, he broadened his scope of traditional Graphic Design, bringing a unique perspective on user-centered research and multi-disciplinary collaboration into the overall process. Through his work with Gap Inc. and as Design Director on Banana Republic's Marketing team, he discovered new doorways into the understanding and crafting of brands and consumer messaging -- which he is able to leverage in both his work and in his teaching. Prior to joining the Academy of Art University, Hunter spent several years helping to build the Graphic Design program at the University of California Berkeley Extension. His work has been featured in numerous books and publications such as Print, How, Critique and Wallpaper magazines. He holds a degree in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University.