Think about the process of producing a successful Super Bowl commercial, a commercial to be well publicized For some people it is hard to think of a great commercial, for others it isn’t. But then again, no one ever said that it would be easy.

Luckily enough Kean University has a school—Robert Busch School of Design located in the Green Lane Academic Building (GLAB)—just for students going into the field of design and within the school are some of the best professors to teach future designers, for example graphic design professor Robin Landa.

Many students may know Professor Landa as someone who loves what she does and always tries to push her students outside the box. Her love for graphic design is present not only inside the classroom but outside as well.

“The idea of being someone who is a primary maker of the visual artifacts of our environment and a creator of popular culture appealed to me,” comments Professor Landa. “Graphic design and advertising design play key roles in the appearance of almost all print, film, and digital media.”

Professor Landa explains how at first she didn’t want to be an educator. While an undergraduate student, she explains how she didn’t “enjoy the student teaching experiences I had. After a half day of student teaching, I felt enervated.” But while in graduate school, she was awarded a teaching fellowship at the university she attended.

“I relished that opportunity—to talk about a subject I loved with people who were (well behaved) and majoring in the visual arts,” she states. “College-level teaching came naturally to me and students responded to my (rather zany) active learning strategies.”

Professor Landa comments how her decision of becoming an educator in higher education was a great one.

“When I see the fruits of my teaching, for instance my former students working as executive creative directors, senior art directors, senior graphic designers, UX [user experience] designers, owning ad agencies and more, I often cry with joy.”

Although she is highly interested in designing, Professor Landa comments that “it wasn’t until after I earned [a Masters in Fine Arts] that I realized I wanted to be a designer.” Landa owns her own firm where she takes up pro-bono assignments (taking on work without pay) like creating advertisements or brand strategies for charities and nonprofit organizations. In the past, her clients varied from pharmaceutical to beverage companies and more.

Besides being a professor and a designer, Professor Landa has also written and published 21 books. The books she has written includes 2D: Visual Basics for Designers (Design Concepts), Graphic Design Solutions the fifth edition, and Build Your Own Brand: Strategies, Prompts, and Exercises for Marketing Yourself.

“It would have to be Graphic Design Solutions, which is in its fifth edition,” Professor Landa comments about the toughest book she has written thus far. She continues to say that since it was first published in 1996 she has changed the content and image manuscript four times and that Graphic Design Solutions covers every major graphic design discipline. 

Although the book mentioned above was one of the toughest books she has written, Professor Landa comments that some of her favorite books are “the books that are extensions of my teaching—Graphic Design Solutions, Advertising By Design, and Nimble: Thinking Creatively in the Digital Age.” She continues to say that she is currently working on the third edition of Advertising By Design, and that she is “immersed in thinking about the creative side of advertising, which fuels teaching my three advanced advertising design classes in the Robert Busch School of Design at [Kean University].”

She also comments about her other book Nimble: Thinking Creatively in the Digital Age which focuses on her unique approach on how she teaches students to create branded content, as well as how to still be imaginative in the age of social media.  

Some people may think that her day as a writer, professor and a designer is endless. Which, sometimes it is.

“In the Robert Busch School of Design, our studio classes are six hours long, so I spend a good deal of time in the classroom, as well as time mentoring and advising my students,” she comments.

With her busy schedule, she does find time to relax by going to theater, reading and watching films. She also writes fiction on her own time, whenever she gets a chance.

Professor Landa goes on to comment how she has to provide the best environment to the talented students that come in and out of the Robert Busch School of Design and be content that she gives them the best to thrive.

Professor Landa comments about how she loves to brag about her former students who have become successful in their field. Many of her former students have won awards, created national brand package designs, created commercials for the Super Bowl and have designed President Obama’s campaign website.

“Our students have such good experiences at Kean [University] that after they graduate they want to come back to teach,” Professor Landa proudly says. “Our alumni hire our students and visit to share their experiences with our aspiring graphic designers and advertising art directors.”

It is evident that Professor Landa is someone who truly cares about the success of her students and is proud whenever she hears that her students become successful in their field. Sometimes, someone’s success isn’t always what he or she produces to be sold, but the success of a pupil he or she taught.