Christopher Sleboda
Associate Professor of Art, Graphic Design; Chair, BFA Graphic Design
Christopher Sleboda is a designer, illustrator, curator, and educator. From 2005 to 2020, he served as the Director of Graphic Design at the Yale University Art Gallery. Overseeing graphic design and wayfinding for the museum—from exhibition identities, motion graphics, and signage to brochures, programs, and art books—Sleboda worked closely with graphic design students in the Yale MFA program and organized public events like the Odds and Ends Art Book Fair as well as talks by visiting graphic designers. In 2022, he organized Multiple Formats, a three-day symposium at Boston University focused on artist book publishing with an international roster of participants. Sleboda has also served as adjunct faculty at RISD since 2016.
Sleboda is the co-founder of Draw Down Books, which was conceived as a platform to design, publish and sell titles that focus on graphic design, typography, photography, illustration, architecture, and art. Draw Down has offered Sleboda opportunities to curate exhibitions, exhibit and speak at artist book fairs, and take an active role in the independent publishing community. In addition to designing publications for Draw Down, Sleboda continues to design visual identities, art books, and printed materials for cultural institutions around the world.
Since 2003, Sleboda has produced work under the studio name Gluekit. This award-winning practice provides graphic images and photo illustration for an international clientele, with projects ranging from theater graphics to editorial illustrations and book covers. His designs have won numerous awards, including recognition by AIGA 50 Books, the Type Directors Club, Print magazine, and various national and international competitions.
Publications
Sleboda’s work is featured in over a dozen books about graphic design, product design, and illustration, and he is the author of two monographs, Cleon Peterson (2015) and Hardcore Fanzine: Good and Plenty, 1989-1993 (2019) as well as the collection I Got Something to Say—Poster Inventory, 2013–2021 (forthcoming, 2022).
