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Rodney Allen Trice

  • Professor of Practice in Graphic Design

24A Borland

Rodney Allen Trice

Biography

Rodney Allen Trice is a 1987 alumnus of the graphic design program at Penn State who returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in August 2018.

Trice spent the previous 30 years working primarily in the magazine publishing industry in New York where he art directed and contributed on a number of mainstream publications, including Allure, Cosmopolitan, Essence, InStyle, Glamour, People, Seventeen, Teen Beat, US Weekly, and Vibe.

His print work evolved into content creation as he expanded his media experience through producing TV pitches and developing video and film concepts around his quirky environmental furniture design business, T.O.M.T.

Trice has been the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Society of Publication Designer Awards, Content Council Pearl Awards, and Content Marketing Institute Magnum Opus Awards. Trice was also honored to make Time magazine’s Green Design 100 list for his furniture work.

Teaching in New York City has afforded Trice his first valuable opportunities to develop his foundational approach to visual communication pedagogy. REFIT OR DIE, Trice’s “design studio of the future,” is where he now actively tests that foundational design ideology through a project-based approach as his research redefines graphic design gestalts and formats through immersive technology experiences.

He’s currently developing a game project called L.S.D., which gathers behavioral data to help players identify their own possible vulnerabilities in the deceptive world of social media. Additionally, he is creating an outreach project called The Lab, which spins off from his large-scale Pittsburgh-focused Angel’s Project.

Collected Works

Three dimensional augmented reality spores as part of a virtual game experience within the 14th St./Union Square station of the New York City subway system.
Three dimensional augmented reality spores as part of a virtual game experience within the 14th St./Union Square station of the New York City subway system.
Three dimensional augmented reality spores as part of a virtual game experience within the 14th St./Union Square station of the New York City subway system.
Three dimensional augmented reality spores as part of a virtual game experience within the 14th St./Union Square station of the New York City subway system.
Three dimensional augmented reality spores as part of a virtual game experience within the 14th St./Union Square station of the New York City subway system.
Three black and white logos for (left to right) Art & Intellect, LLC., Refit Or Die, and The Lab.
Rodney Allen Trice's self portrait using 3D scanning.
An image of Fulton St. Station with a designed icon hovering above.
Initial L.S.D. Game project diagrams showing out-of-place housing around the Fulton St Station at bottom and Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall Station at top.
A rendering of a Spore Concept metamorphosis for a game design.
Six smart phone screens showing different views of an app aimed at augmented reality projects in Pittsburgh.
Six smart phone screens showing different views of an app aimed at exploring 3D augmented reality graffiti in Pittsburgh.
Rendering of an augmented reality installation that is accessible in a phone app showing a church with rays reaching toward the sky.
Two renderings of augmented reality projects at the Carey Furnace historic landmark in southwest Pennsylvania.
Two renderings showing buildings that are no longer in existence at the Carey Furnace using augmented reality.
An image showing a sneaker repurposed as a birdhouse next to a black and white logo and crafting instructions.
A rendering of a giant drop of blood featuring different equations that need to be solved that is hovering over the Forum Building on the Penn State campus.
Black and white logo branding for Dumbo Arts Center at top and Big Cup tea & coffee house at bottom.
Magazine spread titled Nobody can Danai featuring a Black female model posing in different clothing.
Essenge magazine spread titled Miami Heat featuring Black models in different swim attire around Miami settings.
Two still photographs of Rodney Allen Trice -- at top he is describing his found-object furniture work to another collaborator and at bottom he is walking outside of his shop.