Missouri State University’s Department of Art and Design will welcome special guests from Poland Oct. 6 to discuss the work of emeritus professor Roman Duszek.

The event will be held at 2 p.m. in Strong Hall 300. It is free and open to the public.

Co-authors Tomasz Bierkowski and Mariusz Wszołek will discuss their book “Visual Thinking,” a bilingual publication honoring Duszek’s teaching and career. Bierkowski and Wszolek are both professors at SWPS University in Wrocław.

Iwona Zalewska-Duszek is an emerita of the art and design department and will attend on Roman’s behalf.

Visit revives long-standing working partnership

The visit builds on years of exchanges between Missouri State and art and design academies in Poland. The department has hosted a number of artists and educators in the past, including Bierkowski, Lesław Tetla, Marta Bożyk and Marcin Bialas.

“For us, the visit to MSU is particularly important. There could be no better place to tell the story of the professor and the book dedicated to him,” Bierkowski said.

In addition, faculty members have led workshops abroad through Erasmus+ partnerships. Students have also participated in this exchange, with work exhibited in Kraków and Katowice.

Book celebrates Duszek’s career

“Visual Thinking” collects 29 of Duszek’s classroom exercises and nearly 400 student projects, most of which were created at Missouri State. It was published in 2025 by PWN, a leading Polish scientific publisher.

The book reflects Duszek’s view that design is best taught as a way of thinking rather than a formula. “Visual communication is not just a decoration, but it serves a particular purpose — information, persuasion, education, agreement,” he said. “[The] starting point of a designer’s work is to define the problem and the objective of the solution to the problem.”

As Bierkowski noted, “This book is not a recipe for teaching, but rather a way of thinking in the design process. Nothing more, nothing less.”

About Roman Duszek

Duszek began his career in education and in design practice in Warsaw and Paris. He moved to the United States in 1984, first working at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before joining Missouri State’s art and design department. He retired in 2008.

During his time at Missouri State, Duszek made a deep impact on many students and left a strong legacy still felt today. His influence on the design field has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades worldwide.

Duszek continues to produce work in design, printmaking, photography and visual communication.

“Professor Duszek is an outstanding designer and, in Poland, a veritable star of visual communication design,” Bierkowski said. “His teaching achievements and heritage are equally important and of high quality, which, unfortunately, are still not widely known. We hope that this will now change.”

About the speakers

Bierkowski is a designer, educator and researcher who leads the Type and Sign Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. His work focuses on typography, visual identity and design criticism. He has taught and lectured across Europe.

Wszolek is a faculty member in the graphic design department at SWPS University. HIs work centers on visual communication and design theory, with a particular interest in how communication systems function across different media. He has published on these themes and has contributed to projects that connect academic research with applied design practice.

Mark your calendar

Photo credits: Iwona Zalewska-Duszek.

News edited by the Reynolds College Communications Team.

Sam Barnette is a writer for the Department of Art and Design. She holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Missouri State’s Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film. She is working toward an MS in Data Science and Analytic Storytelling at Truman State University.