Amir Berbic
Amir Berbić, dean of VCUarts Qatar, is a graphic designer, educator, and academic leader who serves as Dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar). Since assuming the role of Dean in 2019, he has guided one of the leading art and design institutions in the Middle East, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, creative innovation, and global engagement in arts education. His work as a designer focuses on questions of identity, place, and culture, spanning projects in print design, typography, environmental graphics, and publishing. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Berbić immigrated to the United States in the 1990s, where he completed his design education and began a career in editorial design and publishing. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Before joining VCUarts Qatar, he held several leadership positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, including Professor and Chair of Graphic Design, Associate Dean of the College of Architecture, Design and the Arts, and Acting Director of the School of Design. He also taught for a decade at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Throughout his career, Berbić has collaborated with cultural organizations, arts institutions, and publishers across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. His scholarly and creative work examines how design shapes the identities of places and communities. His projects and research have been featured in prominent publications, conferences, and exhibitions, including Design Issues, Visual Communication, TypeCon, the World Design Summit, and Salone del Mobile in Milan. His work is also included in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As Dean of VCUarts Qatar, Berbić has championed a vision of design education that balances global perspectives with local cultural contexts. He advocates for critical thinking, cross-cultural dialogue, and creative problem-solving, preparing students to become thoughtful leaders in the creative industries and to contribute meaningfully to the cultural and social development of Qatar and beyond.
