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Following graduation in 2004, I was employed as the Graphic Designer for marketing materials promoting Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina and Glorietta Conference Center in New Mexico. Later, I became Lead Designer and Assistant Marketing Director for Griffin Technology, designing international advertisements, trade show booths, packaging in multiple languages and sales presentations located in my hometown of Nashville, TN.
My work was seen in every Apple store in the world, CES shows, MacWorld shows and various mainstream publications. The company grew quickly due to our close relationship with Steve Jobs and the launch of the iPod and iPhone. Our team celebrated accounts from large retailers such as Target, Walmart and Best Buy.
From there, I shifted to owning two successful businesses of my own full-time with my husband, partners and a team of employees I personally trained - one a studio and the other in AV & Home Automation. While in graduate school at Azusa Pacific University, I taught four levels of photography for the Art Department at Union University in Jackson, TN.
Immediately upon graduation in 2016, I began as Professor of Interactive Media at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. In 2024, I accepted a position back in the Art Department teaching Web Design, UX/UI, and Photography at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, SC. When I’m not working, I spend my time with my two sons, Emery (13) and Oliver (9), and my husband, Jesse, of 19 years. Our family lived and traveled in a self-converted van in 2019 and built a tiny home as a demonstration and experiment of how design can benefit living spaces.
Learn
Discover UX/UI and web design in these tutorials and introductions.
Learn photography basics and using your DSLR camera.
Watch Heather Hornbeak's video bio.
Portfolio
Heather Hornbeak's portfolio consists of web design, photography, graphic design, UX/UI design, gallery artwork, higher education leadership and more.
Web Design
Content such as banner videos, photography and forms were created to effectively communicate the outreach Red Bird Mission provides. Digital applications for aid, efficient workflow solutions, social media strategies and SEO strategies successfully drew attention to the mission, influencing stronger engagement.
Content such as banner videos, photography and forms were created to effectively communicate the benefits of the K-12 school. Digital applications for enrollment, efficient workflow solutions, social media strategies and SEO strategies successfully drew attention to the school, influencing enrollment. redbird.ky
Because Sanctuary is not a church, the website was cleaned to reflect a more simple UX journey communicating hours, schedule, mission and volunteer needs.
Content such as banner videos, photography and forms were created to effectively communicate the outreach Red Bird Mission provides. Digital applications for aid, efficient workflow solutions, social media strategies and SEO strategies successfully drew attention to the mission, influencing stronger engagement.
Graphic Design
Logo design within style guide created for 1994 Contracting
A non-profit focused on clean water solutions in vulnerable areas around the world funds it's work with sanitization products such as hand sanitizer using their patented formula. UX/UI design includes all elements of marketing design including SEO strategies, package design, branding, consulting, content creation, responsive web design for an international audience, print media and more.
Logo design within style guide created for 1994 Contracting
Exhibit Artwork
"Deleted Landscapes" explores design and photography with the landscape voided creating a mystery to each image's location
"Deleted Landscapes" explores design and photography with the landscape voided creating a mystery to each image's location
A visual representation of one day's waking hours and sunlight.
"Deleted Landscapes" explores design and photography with the landscape voided creating a mystery to each image's location
Student Work
I am so proud of so many of my former students! It is an honor to teach and be part of their career growth. Many former students have kept in touch and have moved into very influential roles in places such as:
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Apple
Adobe
Loreal
US Senator media offices
Nashville Soccer Club
WWE
The Salvation Army
The Olympic Broadcasting Service
PBS
World Vision
Local News Stations
Local Design Agencies
and more!
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Hadley is a talented designer. Highlighted is a magazine she designed and produced with another student under my direction for an independent study. Each article was written by a current student or faculty member. The magazine was printed and distributed to thousands. She graduated and immediately began working full-time for a design firm in Louisville, KY.
One of my favorite students to work with, Bailey, is a talented designer that can execute a successful design at a rapid speed. I helped Bailey through the process of negotiating her entry level positions working her way to now the Digital Marketing Director at Nashville Soccer Club.
Eli, a student who switched from audio engineering to a design major, worked on a lengthy social media campaign for a Christian organization providing support for a K-12 school in the slums of Lima, Peru as well as other locations around the globe.
Eliza, a student of mine in design and photography completed her masters degree at George Washington University immediately after graduation and began working for Adobe as an educator and speaker.
For the last 5 years, students and I have managed a website hosting thousands of never before seen film painting and drawings from the University collection. The digital presence is meant to give anyone interested in researching in film and production design. Films include "Hello, Dolly!", "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Cleopatra" and more. The website has received attention from many Universities around the globe as well as celebrities.
Using basic animation, many of my students enjoy transforming their designs into simple motions.
Students learn the value of how design shapes whether a digital product is successful or unsuccessful by redesigning mobile apps using UX/UI strategies. This extract from a student presentation is an example of how Ashlynn improved a plant identifying mobile app.