Kwame Larsen

Background

Kwame Larsen is on the faculty of the Department of Art & Design and holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Before Porter, Kwame was a senior designer at a branding agency.

Kwame's research focuses on apparel and textiles, with related work in illustration; undergraduates are involved in the lab most terms.

Areas of expertise

• Apparel and textiles
• Illustration
• Undergraduate research and project mentoring

Teaching

Kwame regularly teaches courses in Studio Art, Graphic Design & Interactive Media, Industrial Design. Specific sections and syllabi are listed in the class schedule each term.

Courses lean on current problems from the field: students read recent work, reproduce a result or method, and then extend it. Kwame builds in low-stakes practice before graded work and gives written feedback on drafts.

Advising and office hours

Kwame advises students in the Art & Design programs and holds weekly office hours during the fall and spring terms, posted on the office door and in the course pages. Prospective students are welcome to email to arrange a visit or a call.

Advising conversations usually cover course sequencing, whether to add a minor or a concentration, and how classroom work connects to internships, research, or graduate study. Students who are undecided are welcome; part of the job is helping them narrow things down.

Recent and representative work

Kwame's recent activity is a mix of peer-reviewed work, conference talks, and student-involved projects in apparel and textiles and illustration. Representative items:

• A peer-reviewed article on apparel and textiles in a disciplinary journal.
• A conference paper on illustration, co-authored with an undergraduate researcher.
• An internally funded project applying apparel and textiles to a regional partner's problem.

Titles and venues here are illustrative. UW–Porter Falls is fictional; Kwame has no real publication record.

Get in touch

The fastest way to reach Kwame is email (klarsen@uwporterfalls.edu); messages during the fall and spring terms are usually answered within two business days. Prospective students and families can ask the Art & Design department office to set up a call, a class visit, or a meeting during an admitted-student day.