Thomas Wedell began his education as a photo major at Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, WI. He went on to the University of Michigan to complete a BFA in photography and then to Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he received an MFA studying both graphic design and photography. He then started a practice in Boston with his partner, graphic designer Nancy Skolos, whom he met at Cranbrook. The two designers work to diminish the boundaries between graphic design and photography—creating collaged, three-dimensional images influenced by modern painting, technology and architecture. With a home/studio in Providence, they balance their commitments to professional practice and teaching at RISD. Both have been awarded the AIGA Medal in recognition of their exceptional achievements in advancing design as a respected craft, strategic advantage and vital cultural force.
The studio’s client list has included Boston Acoustics, Cambridge Arts Council, Digital Equipment Corporation, EMI Music Publishing, Steelcase Design Partnership, Walker Art Center, US Department of Health and Human Services, and the US Postal Service. The work has received numerous awards and has been widely published and exhibited. Skolos/Wedell’s posters are included in the graphic design collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN. They’re also included in the collections of such international venues as The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich, Switzerland; Bibliothéque Nationale de France, Paris; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; the National Museum in Poznan, Poland; The Poster Museum at Wilanów, Poland; and The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
GRAPH 319G-01 - GRADUATE FORM I
LevelGraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
GRAPH 319G-01
GRADUATE FORM I
LevelGraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Tom WedellLocation(s): Design Center, Room 206Enrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This 3-credit studio course will teach design fundamentals to the elective non-GD major students entering the field of Graphic Design from other disciplines, and will feature in-class instruction which may include 2D and 3D form basic principles of color; image-making from photography, drawing, collage, etc. point and plane / figure and ground exercises; sequencing and exposure to various formats, etc.
Please contact the department for permission to register.
Major Requirement | MFA Graphic Design (3yr)
GRAPH 3193-01 - WKSHP: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 1
FormatWorkshop
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
GRAPH 3193-01
WKSHP: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits1
FormatWorkshop
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-06 to 2024-09-27
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Tom WedellLocation(s): Design Center, Room 501Enrolled / Capacity: 10Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This workshop is an introduction to the methods involved in studio photography for designers with an emphasis on lighting-bringing objects to life by articulating their shapes and surfaces with various lighting sources: soft/hard, direct/reflected, focused/diffused, etc. Additional attention will be given to digital file preparation and printing. Throughout this workshop, students will explore the use of DSLR cameras, lenses, exposure meters, and related equipment to create original images of selected 3D objects.
Elective
GRAPH 3193-02 - WKSHP: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 1
FormatWorkshop
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
GRAPH 3193-02
WKSHP: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits1
FormatWorkshop
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-10-04 to 2024-10-25
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Tom WedellLocation(s): Design Center, Room 501Enrolled / Capacity: 10Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This workshop is an introduction to the methods involved in studio photography for designers with an emphasis on lighting-bringing objects to life by articulating their shapes and surfaces with various lighting sources: soft/hard, direct/reflected, focused/diffused, etc. Additional attention will be given to digital file preparation and printing. Throughout this workshop, students will explore the use of DSLR cameras, lenses, exposure meters, and related equipment to create original images of selected 3D objects.
Elective
GRAPH 3193-03 - WKSHP: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Fall 2024
Credits 1
FormatWorkshop
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
GRAPH 3193-03
WKSHP: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
PeriodFall 2024
Credits1
FormatWorkshop
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-11-01 to 2024-11-22
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Tom WedellLocation(s): Design Center, Room 501Enrolled / Capacity: 10Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This workshop is an introduction to the methods involved in studio photography for designers with an emphasis on lighting-bringing objects to life by articulating their shapes and surfaces with various lighting sources: soft/hard, direct/reflected, focused/diffused, etc. Additional attention will be given to digital file preparation and printing. Throughout this workshop, students will explore the use of DSLR cameras, lenses, exposure meters, and related equipment to create original images of selected 3D objects.
Elective
Spring 2025 Courses
GRAPH 3216-01 - DESIGN STUDIO 4
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
Period Spring 2025
Credits 6
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
GRAPH 3216-01
DESIGN STUDIO 4
LevelUndergraduate
UnitGraphic Design
Subject Graphic Design
PeriodSpring 2025
Credits6
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PM; M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Tom WedellLocation(s): Design Center, Room 210Enrolled / Capacity: 14Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Students are expected to develop personal working methods and interests through more general questions posed by the faculty. Longer-term projects will be intermixed with shorter projects posed by visiting critics. Students should complete the Design Studio track with a developed sense of self, and able to start framing questions and lines of inquiries of their own. End forms will be more emphasized than in Design Studio 1 and 2, in part as evidence that craft and working methods are sufficiently evolved. The twice-a-week format is intended for juniors or advanced designers who have completed the first two semesters of Design Studio or an equivalent design principles track.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Junior Graphic Design Students.
