Dio Jensen

DIO JENSEN DESIGN
ATLANTA GA

Hi! I’m Dio Jensen, I was born in Peru, and have spent most of my adult life in the US. I am a designer, educator, and illustrator. I guess you could say I had an interesting path that led to my creative career. I graduated with a dual BBA degree in Finance and Accounting, and earned my CPA license shortly thereafter. However, after working as an auditor for a few years at a “big four” accounting company, I realized that was not my calling. And so, after some soul searching, I decided to study graphic design at Portfolio Center. There I found my passion for packaging, typography, website design, branding, publishing, and so many other creative expressions. At last I felt I was surrounded by what I had been searching for my entire life: a family of creatives! After graduation, I worked at a design studio, but my freelance work was taking most of my time so I created my own company: Dio Jensen Design. Through my company, I provide services to other studios as well as companies big and small. Aside from my business, I am also an instructor at Miami Ad School at Portfolio Center, and I am one of the co-founders and organizers for AIGA Unidos.

HOW AND WHY DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN DESIGNING FOR GOOD AND WHY DO YOU BELIEVE DESIGN IS AN ESPECIALLY EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR THIS GOAL?

As a child I was encouraged by my parents to always give back to the community. The feeling runs even stronger now. After graduation, I started volunteering at AIGA Atlanta, where I currently serve as Treasurer. In last year’s AIGA Leadership Retreat, I met two amazing women: Ximena Vila Ferral and Reina Castellanos. We had only a brief time together at the retreat, but it planted the seed for the birth of what would become AIGA Unidos. Our goal was simple, to share our heritage with everyone in the world. After Covid hit we reconnected, and within six weeks we had launched AIGA Unidos: a multi-chapter collaboration creating a space to empower and celebrate the lives, work, stories, and needs of creatives with a Latinx and Hispanic cultural heritage. In the six weeks after the launch we had thirteen chapters in our AIGA Unidos family ready to host our first event, Hispanic Heritage Talks (HHT): a series of virtual talks featuring Latinx and Hispanic Creatives from different backgrounds and disciplines. HHT2020 had become a reality thanks to people-power: the time, effort, and common vision of our team, our advisors, our chapters, and our speakers. So how can design change the world? Use design to mobilize people, to give voice to those who could not be heard before. We used design to create our AIGA Unidos community, and it all came from one belief, that we deserved to be seen and heard. Each voice, each background gives a new perspective and richness that helps create change in the world.

GIVEN THE CONFLUENCE OF EVENTS AND CHALLENGES WE FACE THIS FALL, DOES 2020 PRESENT ANY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES, URGENCIES, OBSTACLES TO DESIGNING FOR GOOD?

2020 has been quite a year, has it not? But we humans learn to evolve and persevere. It brought the opportunity of connecting, sharing, and working without borders. Technology has made it easier, and with Covid we are all craving connection more than ever. It also brought an urgency for empathy. We are all connected, and if we realize how we influence one another, then we will understand how much power we have within ourselves. Design solves problems, and good can come from the smallest things. A smile can make someone’s day better, leading to hope, leading to a more positive mindset, leading to action. And, human actions change the world.

PHOTO: KATE RAY