Raymond Morales: A Brief Biography

Raymond Morales is a Professor Emeritus and well-known American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs. He taught for 42 years at The University of Utah in the Department of Art and Art History and served as coordinator of the Graphic Design program where he fostered training in the field of visual communications by improving programs and recognizing the viabilities of new directions. Raymond’s career spans five decades, and in that time his graphic designs, teaching, and ideas have broadly influenced several generations of American and international designers.

Raymond Morales now resides in Utah with a studio/home office in American Fork. He continues to work with local and national brands as a consultant and designer. In addition, Morales is creating new pieces of his modern fine art collection to show at galleries throughout the United States.

Early Life and Education

Raymond C. Morales, a first-generation Mexican American, was born in El Paso, Texas in 1946. Growing up in Orange County, California, life’s lessons were not just talked about, they were taught by example every day. And every day of his youth, he watched his father dedicate his days and nights to landscaping, ranching, and dairy farming. As a Chicano youth in the 1950s and 1960s, Raymond encountered severe racial barriers; however, despite these prejudices and stereotypes, Morales found relief and a way to escape. At 15 years of age his responsibilities were large—milking over 150 cows while working a dairy farm. He attended Buena Park High School and Fullerton College in California, and finished his education at Brigham Young University where he worked as an assistant art director for BYU Graphics and a part-time instructor for two years. Morales was then recruited by the University of Utah to teach graphic design.

Career

During his 45 years in the design field, Morales has been involved with various projects in corporate and retail identity, communications and advertising design. He founded his own design studio, Raymond Morales Design, in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1974. He has worked as a designer for, Kastle Ski, USA Park City Ski Corporation, USDA Forest Service, and Robert Redford’s Sundance Ski Resort, Sundance Institute and Film Festival.

Morales has also played an active role in the community, producing visual materials for various non-profit organizations. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the Salt Lake Art Directors Club, and the North Mountain Artists Cooperative. His work includes a wide variety of applications, both regionally and nationally, from sports apparel design to graphically representing major Utah arts and recreation industries, as well as a variety of software corporations, and collateral print materials for government, corporations, companies, and institutions.

Morales, in collaboration with brand counsel James Detjen, was awarded the Utah Best of State Award for Graphic Design in 2007.

In 2015, Morales retired from University of Utah. He was honored with Professor Emeritus status.

University of Utah Post-Doctorate and Post-MFA Fellowship

In 2014 the Raymond C. Morales Post-Doctorate and Post-MFA Fellowship was named for Professor Morales to honor him as the first tenured faculty member appointed in the CFA from an underrepresented group. The Fellowship was founded by the College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah to encourage opportunities for candidates seeking further education in the field of teaching at the college level. The Fellowship acknowledges those who have experience working in settings with students from diverse backgrounds and are committed to improving access to higher education for historically underrepresented students.