CO-FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
LEVEL GROUP, BROOKLYN, NY
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GRAPHIC DESIGN
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK
NEWARK NJ
Jennifer Bernstein has been a practicing designer and educator for over twenty years. She is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Level Group, an award-winning full-service creative agency that specializes in strategic branding and design across media. Since 1997, the products and experiences Level has created have empowered clients to engage new and existing audiences, whether to inform, inspire, or motivate action. The firm chooses to work with clients across a variety of sectors, including Deutsche Bank, The Smithsonian, Green Frontier Capital, PS1/MoMA, the Potamkin Companies, Pratt Institute, NYFA /The New York Foundation of the Arts, MetLife, and Sotheby’s.
Jennifer has also taught extensively at all undergraduate and graduate design education levels, including twelve years at The University of the Arts and four years at Pratt Institute in the Graduate Communications Design MFA. In 2014 she joined the faculty at Rutgers University-Newark.
In addition to the many awards and other recognition Level has received, Jennifer was an invited speaker at the MODE Motion Design Education Summit, and the AIGA/American Institute of Graphic Arts National Design Conference in New Orleans, LA.
Looking forward to 2023, are you optimistic about the role and impact of Graphic Design and Visual Communication in Business? Culture? Causes? Why do you feel that way?
Absolutely! In our less physically “together” world, businesses, even more, require ways to communicate with audiences impactfully. Graphic Design will always reflect cultural shifts and paradigms; we just need to look, acknowledge, and redress. Our firm’s commitment to addressing the urgency of climate change galvanizes our collaborations with clients working toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Have the events and disruptions of the past few years changed the role or trajectory of Graphic Design?
Yes. Many of us are striving for more inclusive Graphic Design — through efforts to expand design history, revealing stories that have been overlooked, or creating platforms that amplify visibility and representation. The industry has adapted to the need to be remote and recognized its potential to provide greater access.
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