Amir Berbić’s work explores place identity, three-dimensional typography and design pedagogy. He is a frequent collaborator with cultural organizations, arts institutions and publishers. Amir immigrated from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Chicago in the 1990s, where he completed his design education and began a career in editorial design and micro-publishing.
Prior to joining UIC in 2014, Amir taught design at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates; in this role, he examined branding campaigns for Dubai’s architectural developments. During the 2016–17 academic year, he served as Acting Director of the UIC School of Design before resuming his role of Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.
Amir’s work, writing, and teaching output have been featured in numerous academic and professional publications, conferences, and exhibitions including Design Issues, Visual Communication, Print, Graphis, Wallpaper, ICOGRADA World Design Congress, AIGA Design Educators Conference, TypeCon, and Salone del Mobile in Milan. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Amir was on the AIGA Chicago Board of Directors (2015–2018), serving as Vice President and Co-Chair of Education.