Monique Brickham graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and the Arts. She launched her graphic design career in the publishing industry working as a page layout designer for a variety of magazines and newspapers circulating throughout Wisconsin and Florida. After excelling in the print world, she broadened her skillset in 2008 by earning certificates in Web Design and Web Development from Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton.
After working in the field for a few years, Brickham wanted to deepen her knowledge, elevate her skills, and share her infectious interest in graphic design with others. She attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. Here she was introduced to human-centered design and design thinking, which utilizes the creative process to construct systematic solutions that address the complex, sticky issues wreaking havoc in society. By the time Brickham graduated in 2012, she had cut her teeth as an independent graphic design instructor, won the Outstanding Design Award, and became nationally certified as an Adobe Certified Expert in InDesign.
After graduate school, by day, Brickham worked as creative director designing brand identities, packaging, and marketing collateral for a small marketing agency in Appleton, and by night, taught graphic design courses part-time at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay. Always striving to be closer to the classroom, she left the marketing agency to work as a graphic designer in the Communication Office at Lawrence University, while continuing to teach part-time at the technical college. At Lawrence, her primary role was print and digital publication design, poster design, and email blasts for a wide range of events and campaigns that targeted prospective students, current students, or alumni.
Brickham joined the Lakeland University faculty in 2016. Now she immerses herself in teaching graphic design by day and continues to nurture her creative spirit through freelance design work and personal projects at night. Even here, design thinking continues to be a driving force for her, as she was honored with the opportunity to give a TEDx talk on the concept in October 2018 at Lakeland (see below).
Dedicated, motivational, and always an email or text message away, Brickham was awarded the Underkofler Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2020.
