Michael Hersrud (born in Fargo, ND) is a multidisciplinary designer interweaving haptic and digital processes using print, typography, interactive & time-based media. His wide range of work often explores reoccurring themes of interconnectivity, fragmentation, perceptual awareness, active observation and social activism.

For the past three years, Michael has worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Art History at Michigan State University, but recently accepted a position to teach "Sequential, Interactive & Motion" media at Virginia Commonwealth University in Doha, Qatar.

In his lecture, Michael will curate and present several of his recent projects and discuss the concepts, methods and processes behind each one. The tile "In Transition" has many meanings within the context of the work. Each project often goes through a series of altered states. For example, a project might start as a performance and end as an artifact or vice-versa, proving that the design process is fluid and not governed by laws of structure. The exploration of process can lead to new ways of communicating and investigating ideas. Likewise, progression, interaction and movement often inspire themes found in the work.

In 2006, Michael graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with an MFA in Graphic Design. Michael grew up in Minnesota and worked in Minneapolis for several years for a variety of companies, including Larsen Design & Interactive, Minnesota Public Radio and Frixsion, a design firm he co-founded and served as the Creative Director for interactive and print media. Prior to RISD, he worked as a freelance designer in Portland, Oregon and attended school at the University of Oregon in Eugene as a Post-Baccalaureate student in Digital Media and Print Making. Michael graduated from Minnesota State University, Moorhead with a BFA in Studio Art and concentration in Graphic Design.

Michael has performed at the PW Theatre at Brown University and has exhibited work at the Sol Koffler Gallery at RISD, the RISD Museum, the College Art Association conference at MassArt in Boston, and the Kresge Art Museum in Michigan. His previous poster work can be viewed in the permanent collection of the RISD Graduate School and a recent poster was selected for the How Magazine's Top 10 poster awards. In addition, his video work as appeared in the Hollywood Digital Video Festival, the da Vinci Days Film Festival, the Fargo Film Festival and the Walker Art Center in conjunction with the 'Insight Design Lecture Series.' Recently, Michael has been a presenter at TypeCon 2008 in Buffalo, NY, the AIGA National Conference on Education in Nashville, TN, and the Digital Hype event at the University of Delaware.