Arlene designs for the communication of backgrounds: bringing cultural, environmental, political and historical stories into focus.
With roots in the Midwest U.S. and a background in journalism, advertising, sustainable development, graphic and product design, Arlene graduated with a Masters degree in Humanitarian Design at Design Academy Eindhoven (the Netherlands). She is an occassional design writer and was a 2004-05 Fulbright grant recipient to the Netherlands, where she focused on the visual explanation of product life-cycles. She's currently fascinated by telling visual stories with Public Relations agency Haberman & Associates. Arlene is adjunct faculty of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Sustainability Certificate program and catalogs critique and inspiration for the visual communication of background stories on www.arlenebirt.com/blog.