Elisabeth Jacobsen
Professor
Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)

As a college professor, Elisabeth Jacobsen has taught design at Manhattan's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) for over 25 years. Teaching display, visual merchandising, P-O-P, event and promotion, and exhibition design has allowed her to bring her values concerning the form and function of design, art, and visual presentation into the academic arena. She chaired the Display and Exhibit Design Department from 2002 into 2007. During her tenure, she has proposed and sponsored a change in the name of the department to Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design, making it more congruent with industry.

Jacobsen has extensive experience in the design field, having designed for myriad visual presentation environments including store interiors, windows, manufacturer showrooms, and exhibitions as well as for theater and art. Since 1993, she has been a designer and consultant for The Design Compendium, a company specializing in visual presentation design and manufacturing for the retail and wholesale industries.

Creating personal mixed media artwork is a continuing commitment for Jacobsen. Autobiographical in nature, her artwork focuses on figuration, addressing notions of the self and vulnerability. It is ambiguous and evokes probabilities. Jacobsen’s exhibits have been shown in many venues, including the San Diego Art Institute, San Diego; New York Hall of Science, Queens, N.Y.; CDLGCC, Albany, N.Y.; The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; and Suffolk County Community College, State University of New York, Riverhead, N.Y.

Jacobsen has an M.F.A. in sculpture from the University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, N.Y.; a B.F.A. in 3D design/sculpture from the State University of New York, Purchase, N.Y.; and an A.A.S. in display/exhibit design and photography from FIT, State University of New York, Manhattan.