2010-11 Rome Prize Winner in Design Jeremy Mende talks about Rome, ambivalence, and the allure of UPS trucks.

Jeremy Mende is a visual designer from San Francisco, California. If questioned he will deny being a Modernist but will enthusiastically admit to a belief in beauty and its essential role in producing things of value and durability.

He received his BA in psychology from UCLA and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 2000 he founded MendeDesign, a creative practice that balances commercial projects with visual research and public art. His work is an effort to define design as equal parts expression, criticism, intuition, and advocacy. He has been recognized internationally for his work and currently has pieces in several collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Mende is a member of the design faculty at the California College of the Arts where he teaches experimental typography, critical theory, and design history. Most recently he was the 2010-11 Rome Prize winner in Design at the American Academy in Rome.

Before his career as a designer, Jeremy skippered a mail packet off the coast of Nova Scotia.