- Creative Services Branch Chief | National Board Member
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention | AIGA
A San Antonio native, Cesar Rivera developed a passion for design at an early age, earning his first competitive awards during high school. Following service in the United States Army (HOOAH!), he earned two Associate’s degrees from San Antonio College and garnered awards artistically and academically from SAC and external competitions. Cesar completed his BFA in Communication Design from Texas State University in 2007, receiving several more design awards during his undergraduate studies. Cesar’s work has been published in the several Graphis annuals—soon to appear in Graphic Design Annual 2022—and has garnered more than 50 awards from top competitions such as AIGA, DSVC, and Creative Summit. Cesar ran a small design studio, Chimaera Design, for 7+ years, and in 2010 co-founded the AIGA San Antonio chapter, serving as the first Vice President and its second President (interim). He also served on the San Antonio College Professional Advisory Committee that helps decide course curriculum.
After working professionally for 5 years, Cesar was accepted to the MFA COMDES program at Texas State University and earned his MFA in 2015. In 2014 Cesar also was co-founder of a startup green chemical company. In 2016 he was hired at Sam Houston State University at the Assistant Professor rank to teach interactive and UX/UI design. He also served as the academic advisor to the SHSU AIGA Student Group. Eager to return to the design profession, Cesar applied to and was hired in mid-2020 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta GA. He now leads the creative design team—covering design, medical illustration, presentation design, publication design, photography and data visualization—in the Division of Creative Services. Also in mid-2020, Cesar was voted in to serve on the AIGA National Board of Directors.