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“Thank You for 30,” a recently launched campaign thanking ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ President Dr. Diana Natalicio for her 30 years of service to the University, features a simple, striking take on her iconic bun hairstyle.

The illustration – seen widely throughout El Paso – is the work of Jorge Baeza, a program advisor and lecturer at Woody L. Hunt College of Business. For Baeza, being given the opportunity to express gratitude to a woman many ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ Miners look up to was a no brainer.

Below, the Woody L. Hunt College of Business checks in with Baeza, his career as an artist and what inspires him when he creates.

Like other designers, my visual approach derives directly from the information I receive and the crowd it’s targeted to – so my style needs to be flexible in that regard. However, when I have complete freedom I tend to work with simple, bold shapes and I also try to use a bit of humor whenever possible.

I always start a project doing research on the topic at hand. This is a phase that I particularly enjoy because I love to learn new things and I read a lot, so I try to immerse myself in the content as I look for elements of the information that somehow “click” with my personality or the things I care about. Once that connection has been made, it becomes easier for me to visually articulate the graphic message. It’s lots of fun!

As a designer I’ve always loved the work from Saul Bass and other midcentury artists. Contemporary designers that I admire the most would be Von Glitschka and Dan Draplin. As an Illustrator I would say Stan Goldberg, Bruce Timm, Genndy Tartakovsky and Mort Drucker/Tom Richmond from MAD Magazine.

Jorge Baeza is a program advisor and lecturer at ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ’s Woody L. Hunt College of Business. To see more of his work online, visit and follow him on Instagram at:

Show your appreciation for President Natalicio's service, dedication and commitment to our University and region through a gift of any amount at .