Alan Caballero LaZare is a Colombian American graphic designer, artist, educator, and researcher.
Alan began his career as a graphic designer at the renowned architecture and design firm Michael Graves where he played an important role in designing packaging for the revolutionary Michael Graves / Drive Medical partnership of assisted living products as well as for the Target / Michael Graves partnership. He also was part of the team that redesigned the Wyndham Hotel and Resorts brand.
After leaving Michael Graves, Alan attended the Rutgers University MFA program. In response to his research on the rise in the number of international border walls being built, his performance Tow at White Box in New York City illustrated our propensity as human beings to create division amongst ourselves by weaponizing religion, sexual preference, skin color, nationalism, and country of origin instead of finding ways to coexist with one another.
As an ongoing project, Alan utilizes the technology from MyHeritage to create virtual memorials for people who are symbolic of social justice who have recently passed away or have been murdered by police.
In 2019, a family friend, Ines, was tasked with improving a children's school in Flores, a small pueblo about an hour away from where Alan’s family lives in the northern part of Colombia.
Ines has been a school teacher for 20 years in Colombia. Flores is similar to other small pueblos scattered across the country which are below the poverty line with no funding for basic services. Alan, along with Ines’ daughter Mary, started to help Ines by purchasing supplies for the school and for the children. Alan recently designed a logo for the school that will be placed on T-shirts that can be sold to help fund the school. Additionally, the new logo can be placed on the student’s new uniforms to bring the children a sense of belonging with pride and joy.
Alan is currently researching how graphic design is used by other graphic design practitioners to help uplift communities. He plans on documenting his findings in a book to be published once it is completed.
Before joining Mason, Alan was an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN where he instituted an anti-racist, inclusive Graphic Design curriculumn as well as restructured and updated the curriculum so it aligned with contemporary graphic design discourse, practice, and education.
Alan received his BFA from Pratt Institute and his MFA from Rutgers University.
2010
Rutgers University
MFA
2004
Pratt Institute
BFA
2001
Brookdale Community College
AA
Alan began his career as a graphic designer at the renowned architecture and design firm Michael Graves where he played an important role in designing packaging for the revolutionary Michael Graves / Drive Medical partnership of assisted living products as well as for the Target / Michael Graves partnership. He also was part of the team that redesigned the Wyndham Hotel and Resorts brand.
After leaving Michael Graves, Alan attended the Rutgers University MFA program. In response to his research on the rise in the number of international border walls being built, his performance Tow at White Box in New York City illustrated our propensity as human beings to create division amongst ourselves by weaponizing religion, sexual preference, skin color, nationalism, and country of origin instead of finding ways to coexist with one another.
As an ongoing project, Alan utilizes the technology from MyHeritage to create virtual memorials for people who are symbolic of social justice who have recently passed away or have been murdered by police.
In 2019, a family friend, Ines, was tasked with improving a children's school in Flores, a small pueblo about an hour away from where Alan’s family lives in the northern part of Colombia.
Ines has been a school teacher for 20 years in Colombia. Flores is similar to other small pueblos scattered across the country which are below the poverty line with no funding for basic services. Alan, along with Ines’ daughter Mary, started to help Ines by purchasing supplies for the school and for the children. Alan recently designed a logo for the school that will be placed on T-shirts that can be sold to help fund the school. Additionally, the new logo can be placed on the student’s new uniforms to bring the children a sense of belonging with pride and joy.
Alan is currently researching how graphic design is used by other graphic design practitioners to help uplift communities. He plans on documenting his findings in a book to be published once it is completed.
Before joining Mason, Alan was an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN where he instituted an anti-racist, inclusive Graphic Design curriculumn as well as restructured and updated the curriculum so it aligned with contemporary graphic design discourse, practice, and education.
Alan received his BFA from Pratt Institute and his MFA from Rutgers University.
2010
Rutgers University
MFA
2004
Pratt Institute
BFA
2001
Brookdale Community College
AA
2021 - Current
George Mason University
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
2020 - 2021
Christian Brothers University
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design
2019 - 2020
Bergen Community College
Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design
Graphic Design 1, Letterform & Type 1
2019 - 2020
Brookdale Community College
Adjunct Professor of Art
Drawing 1, Digital Imaging
2015 - 2018
Foundation
Organized a monthly house music event in NYC with Vivacious from Ru Paul’s Drag Race
2011 - 2013
Bergen Community College
Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design
Graphic Design 1, Layout 1, Layout 2, Digital Imaging
2010 - 2011
Zimmerli Art Museum
Summer art camp instructor
Drawing instructor for afterschool drawing club
2008 - 2010
Rutgers University
Drawing Instructor for Drawing 1
Teaching fellowship + full scholarship as grad student
2005 - 2007
Michael Graves Architecture + Design
Graphic Designer
2004
Michael Graves Architecture + Design
Graphic Designer Intern
2003
Michael Graves Architecture + Design
Graphic Designer Intern