Sam Anvari
Sam Anvari is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at California State University, Long Beach. A graphic and interaction designer with more than 20 years of hands-on experience, his work spans UX/UI, mobile/web platforms, and human-centered systems.
Sam earned his MFA in Graphic Design from Otis College of Art and Design, where he studied under Kali Nikitas, Stuart Bailey, and Dr. Erik Spiekermann. He also holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering, a background that informs his systems-based approach to problem-solving in design. His research and teaching focus on interface design, accessibility, design systems, and prototyping, with an emphasis on creating clear and inclusive communication across digital platforms.
Alongside his academic work, Sam is an independent consultant. He has collaborated with agencies such as Edenspiekermann and Alice. Inc., and advised on projects ranging from automotive UI design to medical data record systems and usability enhancements for medical devices. This active design practice keeps his teaching directly connected to industry challenges, while his students benefit from applied, research-driven perspectives on contemporary design.
Sam’s research has been presented internationally, including at the Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) Conference, the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), The Design Principles & Practices, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
- Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design - Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, 2012
- Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering - Azad University, Tehran, 1998
- UX/UI - Interaction Design
- Mobile Application Design
- VR/AR
- Human-Centered Design
- Service Design
- Biomedical Engineering
- Human-Factors in Psychology
- Typography - Design Systems
15th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2024) - The Human Side of Service Engineering
Anvari, S., Woods, P. (2024). Localizing Graphical User Interfaces for Right-to-Left Languages: A Practical Study. In: Christine Leitner, Rainer Nägele, Clara Bassano and Debra Satterfield (eds) The Human Side of Service Engineering. AHFE (2024) International Conference. AHFE Open Access, vol 143. AHFE International, USA. - Link.
13th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2022) - The Human Side of Service Engineering
Anvari, S.S., Hancock, G. (2022). Interdisciplinary Design Teaching: A pedagogical approach to train hands-on UX/UI designers. In: Christine Leitner, Walter Ganz, Clara Bassano, Clara Bassano and Debra Satterfield (eds) The Human Side of Service Engineering. AHFE (2022) International Conference. AHFE Open Access, vol 62. AHFE International, USA. - Link.
Note: 3rd Place for Best Paper Award at AHFE 2022 Conference.
21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021)
Anvari, S.S., Hancock, G.M., Mok, N.B.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, Machado, C. L.*, Chompff, R.M.E.*, McCoy, K.M.*, Nare, M.T.*, Shiraiwa, Y.*, Mizushima, Y.*, Morales, N.*, & Alcharbaji, L.* (2021). Interface design for users with spinal cord injuries & disorders: An interdisciplinary research program with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In: Black N.L., Neumann W.P., Noy I. (eds) Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021). IEA 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 222, pgs 232-238. Springer, Cham. - Link.
64th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES 2020)
Hancock, G.M., Anvari, S.S., Mok, N.B.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, Bai, X.*, McCoy, K.M.*, Nare, M.T.*, Mather, G.P.*, Machado, C.L.*, Chompff, R.M.E.*, McBride, A.S.*, & Morales, N.* (2020). A heuristic evaluation of usability for environmental control units’ eye-tracking interfaces at Veterans Affairs spinal cord injuries and disorders centers. Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES 2020), 64(1), 741-745. - Link.
22nd International Conference of Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2020)
Hancock, G.M., Anvari, S.S., Nare, M.T.*, Mok, N.B.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, McCoy, K.M.*, Bai, X.*, Mather, G.P.*, McBride, A.S.*, & Morales, N.* (2020). Environmental control units for inpatient care at Veterans Affairs spinal cord injury centers: Heuristic evaluation and design recommendations. In: S. Yamamoto & H. Mori (Eds.), Human Interface and the Management of Information: Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference of Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2020). (pp. 23 – 38). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. - Link.
Conference Presentation
15th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2024) - The Human Side of Service Engineering
Anvari, S., Woods, P. (2024). Localizing Graphical User Interfaces for Right-to-Left Languages: A Practical Study. In: Christine Leitner, Rainer Nägele, Clara Bassano and Debra Satterfield (eds) The Human Side of Service Engineering. AHFE (2024) International Conference; Nice, France - July 2024.
17th International Conference on Design Principles & Practices
Sam Anvari, Assistant Professor, School of Art - Graphic Design Program, California State University, Long Beach, United States. P-English - Roots and Side Effects: Research into a Sub-lingual Script Emerging Out of the Internet Event. 17th International Conference on Design Principles & Practices - New Agendas for Design: Principles of Scale, Practice of Inclusion; Lisbon Polytechnic, Portugal. March 2023.
The 110th Annual Conference of the College Art Association (CAA 2022) - Design Incubation Colloquium 8.2
Anvari, S.S. & Hancock, G.M. (2022). Interdisciplinary human-centered design research – Overcoming practical challenges before and during the pandemic – A pragmatic approach to design education and practice. The 110th Annual Conference of the College Art Association (CAA 2022) - Design Incubation Colloquium 8.2: Recent Research in Communication Design; Chicago, IL. Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. March 2022. - Link.
13th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2022) - The Human Side of Service Engineering
Anvari, S.S., Hancock, G.M., Mizushima, Y.*, Shiraiwa, Y.*, Chompff, R.M.E.*, Tran, V.*, Barr, N.*, Morales, N.*, Apatiga, Y.*, Bianco, L.*, Karp, R.*, Gough, D.*, Brown, K.*, Abe, J.*, Aguilar, A.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, Hanley, M.*, Huynh, A.*, Tran, H.*, & Mok, N.* (2022). Interdisciplinary design teaching: A pedagogical approach to train hands-on UX/UI designers. The 13th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2022); New York, NY. Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. July 2022.
12th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2021) - The Human Side of Service Engineering
Anvari, S.S., Hancock, G.M., Mok, N.B.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, Nare, M.T.*, Machado, C.L.*, Chompff, R.M.E.*, Mizushima, Y.*, Shiraiwa, Y.*, Morales, N.*, & Alcharbaji, L.* (2021). UI design for medical devices: An interdisciplinary research program to enhance the usability and UX of environmental control units at VA hospitals.Paper accepted for presentation at the 12th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2021); Manhattan, NY. Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. July 2021.
21st Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021)
Anvari, S.S., Hancock, G.M., Mok, N.B.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, Machado, C. L.*, Chompff, R.M.E.*, McCoy, K.M.*, Nare, M.T.*, Shiraiwa, Y.*, Mizushima, Y.*, Morales, N.*, & Alcharbaji, L.* (2021). Interface design for users with spinal cord injuries & disorders: An interdisciplinary research program with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Paper submitted for presentation at the 21st Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2021); Vancouver, Canada. Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.June 2021.
22nd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2020)
Anvari, S.S.,Bai, X.*, McCoy, K.M.*, Ayvazyan, A.*, Mok, N.B.*, Nare, M.T.*, Mather, G.P.*, Morales, N.*, McBride, A.S.* & Hancock, G.M. (2020). UX/UI research on ECU systems for inpatient care at VA hospitals: An overview of an ongoing research program. Paper presentation at the 22nd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2020); Copenhagen, Denmark. Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. July 2020.
14th International Conference on Design Principles & Practices
Anthony Acock, Assistant Professor, Art, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, United States, Sam Anvari, Assistant Professor, School of Art - Graphic Design Program, ºÚÁÏÍø, United States, Zachary Vernon, Assistant Professor, California State University, Los Angeles. Creative Jammers: A Corporate-Sponsored, Multi-University, Cross-Disciplinary UX/UI Event. 14th International Conference on Design Principles & Practices; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Campus, Brooklyn, NY. Virtual Conference due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. March 2020.
Featured on ºÚÁÏÍø Research@Beach Online Magazine
Anvari, S., Hancock, G. (2021, March). One Year Later: Giving Back to Our Veterans - Interdisciplinary Research During the Pandemic - Art & Psychology Progress in Their Research to Improve VA Technology for Veterans with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disordersby Sam Anvari & Gabriella Hancock. Research@Beach - Link to article.
Anvari, S., Hancock, G. (2020, March). Giving Back to Our Veterans: Art & Psychology Research to Improve Technology for Vets with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disordersby Sam Anvari & Gabriella Hancock. Research@Beach - Link to article.
ºÚÁÏÍø Beach Mentor
ºÚÁÏÍø BUILD - UROP, 2019 - Present
CSU Adobe Advisory Council
Member Of The Board Of Advisors, 2020 - Present
AIGA Los Angeles
Director of Education, 2019-2021
AIGA Design Conference 2020
Peer Reviewer
SIGGRAPH 2019 Conference
Art Gallery Jury
Common Ground Research Networks (University of Illinois Research Park)
Member - Peer Reviewer
