By Roxy Osborne

After jumping from the bustling streets of Chicago to the humble countryside in North Carolina, new professor Dan Elliott is ready to make his mark at the University of Louisville’s Hite Institute of Art and Design.

Elliott comes to U of L with a plethora of experience under his belt. After obtaining his Associate of Applied Science at Kishwuakee Community College in 2001, he went straight to Illinois State University to earn his Bachelor’s of Science. His final degree, a Master’s of Fine Arts, was earned at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2006.

After teaching in Chicago, Elliott made the move to North Carolina to teach at East Carolina University in 2013. Twelve years later, he returns to the Midwest to bring his expertise to students at U of L.

Early inspirations illustrate teaching methods

Elliot teaches Typography III and History of Graphic Design. Typography, specifically, has always been Elliott’s specialty.

This love of typography is intertwined with his earliest fascination with art. As a lifelong music fan, Elliott remembers the first artwork he truly fell in love with being the bold designs of his favorite album covers.

“Josef Albers was this famous artist from the Bauhaus [art school in Germany] who designed album covers for percussionists,” said Elliott. “They use abstract art and geometric shapes to convey rhythm in the percussions. Some of those are my favorites now.”

Persuasive Percussion Volume 3 album cover art by Josef Albers. The album was produced by Enoch Light in 1960. (Image courtesy / Proxy Music Club)

Students in Elliott’s Typography III class designed both the cover and interior pages of a book. Just as Elliott was enticed by Albers’ work, he emphasizes the importance of drawing people in with appealing first impressions.

“As we were talking about it in class, someone was like, ‘you actually do judge a book by its cover.’ Well, yeah, why do you pick up a book off the shelf?” said Elliott. “Unless someone gives you (a recommendation), you’re looking at that cover that convinces you to pick it up.”

In addition to Typography III, Elliot’s History of Graphic Design class gives a snapshot into artists’ works from the past. Elliott encourages his students to grasp what design philosophies resonate with them the most and translate that passion into their own work.

From left, Professor Dan Elliott assists a student in his Typography III class, Nov. 10, 2025. (Photo by Jai’Michael Anderson / The Louisville Cardinal)

A look at Elliott’s artistry

Being the self described “typography guy” at U of L, Elliott does not shy away from a bold use of lettering in his pieces. Pieces of Craft, a website of his work, was originally a passion project with his friends in Chicago.

“When I was teaching at Chicago Rapid Grad School, I met some friends that wanted to start an art collaborative,” said Elliot. “We were coming up with a name for it, we were all like, ‘well, we’re all pieces in this larger, different crap.’ We thought it was really funny and sounded like pieces of crap.”

Growing up poor without the ability to travel, Elliott turned to looking at maps to get a broader world view. Despite his moves in his adult age, he says geographic location isn’t necessarily what drives his artwork. Instead, utilizing the resources he has access to and taking advantage of  different life experiences have to offer is what truly drives his artwork.

Elliot lays out goals for U of L

Along with Elliott, professor Dana Potter also joined the Art Institute this semester. The two professors are aiming to revamp the graphic design program with a new curriculum. With Potter having experience in web-design and photography, Elliot believes that the combined effort of himself, Potter and the rest of the graphic design faculty will put U of L’s teaching on the map nationally.

“When someone says ‘graphic design education,’ I want U of L to be on that list. I think our students are going to be really well rounded,” said Elliott.