Rod Sánchez

Rodrigo Sánchez is an award-winning visual communication designer, artist, and filmmaker.  He is a multidisciplinary designer currently, a Lead User Experience (UX) Designer at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and has designed and illustrated book covers for Penguin Random House and Scholastic.  Rod has directed and designed campaigns for Disney, Nickelodeon, Scholastic, Penguin Random House, The Weather Channel, The City University of New York (CUNY), and received design awards from The New England Book Show and The Create Awards Winners Showcase.  

Rod is the illustrator and cover designer of the award-winning book, How to Communicate Effectively with Anyone, Anywhere (Career Press) co-authored by NYU Professors Raúl Sánchez and Dan Bullock, including an augmented reality (AR) learning experience designed by the team which received the Axiom Business Book Award, Global Book Award, Nautilus Book Award, Book Excellence Award, and was selected as a "Top Title" by the Financial Times. 

The award-winning animated short film Winged Painter co-directed by Rod Sánchez and Raúl Sánchez raised over $1,000 for the RAINN charity (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) affiliated with recording artist/musician Tori Amos – their campaign was featured on Tori Amos’ Undented page and social media channels for RAINN. Rod’s motion design experience spans in creating the brand identity and animation package of the on-air show "Day Planner" for The Weather Channel, designing motion graphics for the show’s promotional spots along with digital and print media advertising in support of the campaign design. His illustrations have appeared on the covers of various book cover jackets for several Penguin Random House – Knopf Books for Young Readers titles such as, Are We There Yet by David Levithan and Barry Boyhound by Andy Spearman as well as on various K–12 educational book covers for Scholastic and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Rod’s art direction and design of The City University of New York (CUNY) “The College of Possibilities” campaign, was published widely in Time Out New York Magazine, The Village Voice, AM New York Metro. His painted portrait of Diego Maradona was a winner in the International Illustration Competition hosted by Swiss fútbol arts and culture magazine Tschutti Heftli – international jury members included National Soccer Hall of Fame member and Fox Sports professional U.S. footballer/sports commentator, Alexi Lalas. From there, Rod was selected to paint the portraits of the Colombia National Team – FIFA World Cup 2018 for publication in the magazine. Recently, his artwork has been exhibited at Rockefeller Center – The Flag Project 2023, The Wall Street Journal - WSJ Instructor Conference, and TEDxNYUShanghai Salon. Rod’s artwork has been exhibited internationally, displayed on billboards in New York City, and published in the Guardian, HuffPost, El País, The United Nations Academic Impact Magazine, Making Music Magazine, Sonicbids.com, Thrive Global, and Time Out New York.  

Rod holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Design and Technology from the New School University – Parsons School of Design, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Visual Communication Design and a Spanish Language and Literature Minor from The Ohio State University.

AWARDS

DESIGN AWARDS:
• J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge – 1st Place Design Award
• The Create Awards Winners Showcase – 2 Silver Design Awards
• New England Book Show – 2nd & 3rd Place

ARTWORK & ILLUSTRATION AWARDS:
• Tschutti Heftli (Arts & Culture Magazine): International Illustration Competition – Winner
• Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series National Competition – Semi-Finalist
• HelvetArt Gallery – Honorable Mention
• Colors of Humanity Art Gallery – Noteworthy Award

BOOK AWARDS:
• Best Indie Book Award (BIBA) – Winner
• Book Excellence Award – Winner
• Global Book Award – Silver Award
• Nautilus Book Award – Silver Award
• Axiom Business Book Award – Bronze Medalist
• International Book Award – Finalist

EXHIBITIONS

Rockefeller Center – The Flag Project • Palm Springs Art Museum • Penguin Random House • X Gallery • Rush Arts Gallery • Gallery MC • Lyons Wier Gallery • Jersey City Theatre Center • Elga Wimmer Gallery • Merseles Studios Gallery • Parsons Gallery at Parsons School of Design – The New School University • McConnell Arts Center • Niagara Gallery • HERE Arts Center • The Art Guild of Port Washington • Tribeca Performing Arts Center • Wexner Center for the Arts at the Ohio State University

FILM FESTIVALS

Film: Winged Painter
An award-winning animated short film, co-directed by Raúl Sánchez and Rod Sánchez
Official Selection of the Orlando Film Festival earning nominations for: Best Music Video and Best Artwork

Winged Painter officially selected and screened at:
• New York Short Film Festival (New York City, USA)
• Palm Springs International Animation Festival (California, USA)
• Orlando Film Festival (Florida, USA)
• The MECA Mediterráneo Centro Artistico  (Almería, Spain)
• Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Granada  (Granada, Spain)