Chris Jackson

Senior Associate Dean

Dean’s Office

College of Art and Design

cbjpgd@rit.edu

585-475-5823

Office Location

BOO-2537

Chris Jackson

Senior Associate Dean

Dean’s Office

College of Art and Design

Education

BFA, Alfred University; MFA, Rochester Institute of Technology

Bio

Chris Jackson is an author, designer, professor, and the Associate Dean in the College of Art and Design at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Before joining the RIT faculty, Chris was a new media designer with Eastman Kodak Company, creating and delivering online instructional training. He continues to be an animator, designer, developer, and consultant for global corporations. He lectures and conducts workshops related to motion graphics and interactive design.

Chris's professional work has received over 25 distinguished national and international awards for online communication. His areas of research include user experience design, motion graphics, visual storytelling and interactive design for children. His interactive work is part of the American Comic Book Heroes exhibit at The Strong National Museum of Play.

Chris continues to publish and present his research and professional work at Adobe MAX, ACM Siggraph and the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Chris is the author of After Effects for Designers (Focal Press, 2017), After Effects and Cinema 4D Lite (Focal Press, 2014), Flash Plus After Effects (Focal Press, 2010), Flash Cinematic Techniques (Focal Press, 2010), and co-author of Digital Design in Action (Focal Press, 2017) and Flash 3D: Animation, Interactivity, and Games (Focal Press, 2006).

Areas of Expertise

User Experience Design

Motion Graphics

Visual Communication Design

Select Scholarship

Book Chapter

Peres, Michael, et al. "About the Images from Science 3 Project." Images from Science 3. Rochester, NY: RIT Press, 2019. 4-7. Print.

Full Length Book

Jackson, Chris. After Effects for Designers: Graphic and Interactive Design in Motion. First ed. New York, New York: Focal Press, 2017. Print.

Jackson, Chris and Nancy Ciolek. Digital Design in Action: Creative Solutions for Designers. First ed. New York, NY: CRC Press, 2016. Print.

Jackson, Chris. After Effects and Cinema 4D Lite: 3D Motion Graphics and Visual Effects using Cineware. 1st ed. New York, NY: Focal Press, 2104. Print.

Invited Keynote/Presentation

Jackson, Chris. "Get Animated with After Effects: An Introduction to Motion Graphics." Adobe MAX Creativity Conference. Adobe. Los Angeles, California. 5 Oct. 2015. Conference Presentation.

Jackson, Chris. "After Effects: Foundational Techniques to Your First Animation." Adobe MAX 2014 Creativity Conference. Adobe. Los Angeles, CA. 6 Dec. 2104. Guest Lecture.

Jackson, Chris. "Foundational Techniques for Animation with After Effects." Adobe MAX Creativity Conference. Adobe. Los Angeles, CA. 6 May 2013. Guest Lecture.

Invited Article/Publication

Jackson, Chris. "Modeling in Cinema 4d Lite." Mastering Film. (2015). Web.

Jackson, Chris. "CINEMA 4D Lite and CINEWARE." Mastering Film. (2015). Web.

Invited Paper

Jackson, Chris and Adam Smith. "3D Enhanced Visual Design for Designers." 2013 UCDA Design Education Summit Proceedings. (2013). Print.

Published Conference Proceedings

Jackson, Chris, Nancy Ciolek, and Peter Byrne. "Designing for the Human Experience: Integrating Design and Technology." Proceedings of the National UCDA Design Education Summit Conference. Ed. UCDA. Blacksburg, VA: n.p., 2012. Print.

Published Book

Jackson, Chris. Flash + After Effects: Add Broadcast Features to Your Flash Designs. 2nd edition. Boston: Focal P, 2010. Print.

Jackson, Chris. Flash Cinematic Techniques: EnhancingAnimated Shorts and InteractiveStorytelling. Boston: Focal P, 2010. Print.

Formal Presentation

Jackson, Chris. “Hands-On Introduction to After Effects.” Adobe MAX. Adobe. Los Angeles, CA. 25 October 2010. Presentation.

Published Review

Ramin, Zahed. “Rev. of Flash Cinematic Techniques” by Chris Jackson. Animation Magazine. June/July 2010. Print.

In the News

July 13, 2022

Alumnus applies design superpowers to Marvel Cinematic Universe

Jake Mathew '04, '06 MFA has completed high-profile motion design projects throughout his career — the latest was animating the main on end titles for Ms. Marvel.
February 7, 2020

Making the Invisible Visible at the Images from Science Exhibition

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine highlights the “Images from Science 3” (IFS 3) exhibition, produced by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine professor Norman Barker and RIT professors Michael Peres, Bob Rose, Chris Jackson and Ted Kinsman.
October 18, 2018

Podcast: Critical Thinking

Intersections: The RIT Podcast, Ep. 1: Our debut episode features a conversation between Eugene Fram, professor emeritus from Saunders College of Business, and Chris Jackson, associate dean of the College of Art and Design. The two discuss how they came to value the importance of critical thinking and the role it plays in education, business, design and everyday life.

Featured Work

Author | After Effects for Designers

Chris Jackson

After Effects for Designers teaches design students, artists, and web, graphic, and interactive designers how to design, develop, and deploy motion design projects using Adobe After Effects. Each...

Author | Digital Design in Action: Creative Solutions for Designers

Chris Jackson

This book explores the creative design aspects for various mediums, including the Web, apps, ePub, visual presentations, and PDF. Using the latest digital publishing tools and a project-based pedagogy...

Author | After Effects and CINEMA 4D Lite

Chris Jackson

This book clearly demonstrates how the new 3D workflow bridges Adobe After Effects and Maxon CINEMA 4D together to raise the design bar for motion graphics and broadcast design. Hands-on exercises...

See All