MEENA KHALILI is a professor of design and interaction, who makes daily drawings of things. She is an artist who uses design as a strategy for creation, and a designer who brings artistic methods to her solutions. 

Khalili is the recipient of the National Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement in Graphic Design by the Southeastern College Art Conference. Her work has been shown at the Type Director’s Club of New York, Chicago Design Museum, and galleries throughout North America, in Italy, Canada, China, Indonesia, Croatia, Australia, and Moscow, with illustrations and book art in permanent collections at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives, the Omni Hotel Louisville, and the Library of Congress. She is featured in Issue 05 of The Great Discontent. 

Her research is driven by her experience as an Iranian-American. Her work explores cultural identity and generational storytelling. ​ 

Khalili's interdisciplinary work moves between traditional design and studio art practices with focus on ethical design, sustainable practices, user experience and human interaction, storytelling, typography, illustration, moving image, and augmented reality. In addition to her international exhibitions, Meena maintains an active speaking schedule with engagements and workshops throughout the U.S., and abroad in Hong Kong, Doha, and Venice. 

Khalili is Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Visual Art + Design. She is a native of Washington, D.C. and holds a BFA in Illustration and an MFA in Visual Communication + Graphic Design from VCUarts and completed study at the Illustration Academy, and the LdM Institute in Florence, Italy. 

Ardent advocate for design education, Meena served as National Co-Chair of the AIGA Design Educators Community from April '20-May '22. 

Research Focus

Meena’s research focuses on generational storytelling, design pedagogy, human-centered design and creative practice. She explores interactive design, UX/UI, augmented reality, machine learning, print and digital design.  

Courses with Professor Khalili

ARTS 102 Design Technology + Concepts
ARTS 346 Process + Systems
ARTS 347 Interaction Design
ARTS 448 Portfolio Studio (Capstone)