Avrie Allen
Interdisciplinary Designer + Educator in Providence, RI
avrie.world at gmail
About
As a graphic designer, I work with individuals and academic, cultural, and community institutions. Since 2016, I have offered pro bono design services to volunteer-run, grassroots organizations. My interdisciplinary, research-driven practice takes many forms engaging visual, written, and material language.
I am currently working on freelance design projects, designing for Institute for Contemporary Art/Boston, teaching graphic design, and developing a publication titled countersense. Email is open for inquiries about work, teaching, workshops, or to request my full CV.
This site is always handcoded. © 2026. All work licensed under
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Last updated 10.26.
CV
Selected Clients
Rhode Island School of Design: 150-year Anniversary Special Project, Campus Galleries, Graduate Studies; the Kinsey Institute; The Visiting Room Project; and Susan Buck-Morss.
Selected Publications
Girlhood Arrested: How Girlhood is Shaped by the Carceral Landscape in Louisiana
Designer, Editor, Co-Authored with Dr. Kennedi Johnson and The Visiting Room Project, 2026
countersense
RISD MFA Thesis, 2026
girlhood & its aftermath: feminist reflections on adolescence Anthology
Designer, Editor, and Writer, Self-Published, 2023
Education
MFA, Graphic Design
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, RI
2024–2026
Cross-Registration
Brown University, Providence, RI
2025
BFA, Studio Art—Graphic Design
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Minor–Art History
Para-Institutional Education
Typography Summer School
with Other Means, Geoff Han, Fraser Muggeridge, and Michael Bierut, Brooklyn, NYC
Teaching + Workshops
Instructor, Rhode Island School of Design
Activating Networks, Gathering Knowledge, Wintersession 2026
Instructor, Community College of Rhode Island
Graphic Design I, FA 2026
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Rhode Island School of Design
Graphic Design Department, SP 2025–SP 2026
Peer Tutor, Rhode Island School of Design
Center for Arts & Language, FA 2024–SP 2026
Workshop Instructor, The Visiting Room Project
Girlhood Zine Workshop, July 2025
Grants, Awards, + Fellowships
Graduate Commons Grant
RISD, 2026
Maharam Fellowship
RISD, 2025
Graduate Fellowship
RISD Graphic Design, 2024–2026
Cox Scholar
Indiana University
Graphic Design Area Award
Indiana University
Grafton D. Trout Essay Award
Indiana University, Art History Department—Best paper of academic year
Solo Exhibition
girlhood redefined
Tangent Gallery, Bloomington, IN, 2024
Speaking
MFA Thesis Writing Workshop
RISD Graphic Design, Invited Speaker/Panelist, FA 2026
"Body of Knowledge," Graduate Artist Talk
Rhode Island School of Design, Winter 2026
Research
Karen Brodine Collection
Archival research of writings, notes, and works of poet, educator, typesetter, and political organizer Karen Brodine. San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA, 2026. Supported through the RISD Commons Grant. Associated with countersense, fragments of a future, and The houses, the air, the streets
Kinsey Institute Books and Magazines Collection
Primary research on norms of girlhood constructed through 20th century sex education home guides. Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, IN, 2023–24. Supported by Indiana University and the Kinsey Institute. Resulted in solo exhibition, girlhood redefined
RISD 150th Anniversary
Historical fact-finding on the past 150 years of RISD. RISD Marketing and Communications, Providence, RI, 2026
Skills
Areas: Publication Design; Web Design and Development; Motion Design; Identity Design; Concept Development; Research and Writing; Teaching and Workshops
Software: Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, AfterEffects, and Premiere; HTML, CSS, JS, p5.js; Blender