Bright Polka Dot is a multidisciplinary design studio and art practice founded by Kelly Walters. Bright Polka Dot works across platforms to create exhibitions, installations, publications and digital design experiences for cultural and commercial institutions. The work of Bright Polka Dot and Kelly Walters has been recognized by Graphis, It’s Nice That, Connecticut Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, The One Club and AIGA Eye on Design.

Kelly Walters is an artist + designer + founder of Bright Polka Dot. Her practice includes teaching, writing and experimental publishing, with a particular focus on race and representation in design. Her ongoing design research interrogates the complexities of identity formation, systems of value and the shared vernacular in and around black visual culture. Kelly has worked as a designer for SFMOMA, the RISD Museum, Alexander Isley, Inc. Designers and Blue State. In 2015, she completed her MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She was awarded an Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) Teaching Fellowship in the Graphic Design program at California College of the Arts from 2015-2016. She has previously taught at the University of Bridgeport, Rhode Island School of Design, University of Connecticut and Central Saint Martins. She is currently the Director of the BFA Communication Design program and a tenured Associate Professor of Communication Design in Parsons School of Design at The New School.