University of Washington 2006 MFA Thesis Exhibition

Opening May 26th, 7-9 pm \ The Henry Art Gallery on the UW campus.

“Born in Aspen, Colorado, Callie Neylan moved to Washington state in 1990. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Central Washington University in 1997, studying art and French. After moving to Seattle a year later, Callie’s growing interest in design was fostered while managing ergonomics programs for a local municipality. While advocating for the health needs of public works employees, she experienced firsthand how the poor design of office furniture and construction tools negatively affected the average worker.

Callie continued her focus on human-centered design by starting formal design studies and working as a user-interface and interaction designer for several area software companies. She was also an adjunct design instructor for Seattle Central Community College, where she taught courses on user-centered design, typography for the Web, and project management.

Her decision to pursue a graduate education was based on a desire to learn more about formal design theory and for the opportunity of extended critical inquiry: how is design best used to help solve societal problems? Her two years of graduate study have been spent exploring this question through various design disciplines; visual communication design, industrial design, and experimental film; culminating in her thesis: “A Tactile Point-of-Reference: Visualizing From a Blind Perspective”.

Callie’s other interests include reading, writing, politics, photography, cinematography, skiing, hiking, singing, and foreign languages and cultures. She currently lives in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood with her husband, Will; her children, Seth, 19, and Michaela, 16; and two very energetic Weimaraners, Oslo and Mies.”