Pein-
Your sick sense of humor blended with your professional expertise makes you one hell of a prof. I wish I had more classes with you when you were at Ai but I know if I really had a challenge, you'd be there for me today. Thanks for being the type of teacher you are, I wish there were more of you out there.

Dear Pein

You have proven the skeptics wrong and accomplished what most said was impossible. There is no doubt that your recent achievements will be spoken of for some time to come and that the admiration for your accomplishments is felt by all of us within the graphic design industry as well as the general public..

All hail the queen!

Thanks Melcher! I have to tell you because I don't know if you'll remember: One night during the Senior Project class with me, you were working like a MAD MAN on finishing your portfolio website. Those were fun times, weren't they!?

It was almost 10 p.m. All of the other students had already left. I was trying to wrap things up and get out of there myself, as my 12 year old daughter was with me in class that night, bored out of her mind. But you were still at it, obsessing, working, clicking...Finally, I yelled with that obnoxiously loud frat-party voice of mine, "GIVE IT UP MELCHER!!!"
Well, my daughter found this so hilarious, and felt the need to tell others. The point is, you're name is now known because of that fateful night.
"GIVE IT UP MELCHER!" is now a commonly used expression in my circle of people for when someone just won't let go of a task. Pretty good thing to be famous for, huh!?

Christina has her stuff together. She instructed two of my upper-level courses. Several things, working in conjunction, make her exceptional.

Christina has high standards and requires a lot of work. Knowing what’s due and when is clear: her expectations are stated as milestones on syllabi and other supporting documents. All deliverables have a due date and include technical specifications.

Christina’s feedback and criticisms are honest and delivered with wit. Simultaneously fun (usually) and professional, her observations are based on the foundational elements of design as well as current industry standards. She won’t let students “off the hook." Students are aware when their work is professionally unacceptable. When good design concepts are proposed, she encouragingly suggests alternative ideas and counterpoints to consider that result in even stronger final designs.

Lastly, Christina “walks her talk.” Her knowledge, insights, expectations, and feedback are all based on being a great designer. Students have access to her professional portfolio and, as a result, are assured that she knows what she’s talking about and has real work, in the real world, to back it up.

When I met Christina, I was a wreck, dumpster diving for food and clothes, dancing on street corners for some change. And then it hit me, even though I had no need to do any of that, basically since I did it for fun, I realized that my calling was to design, graphically. I also enjoy writing run on sentences, but thats not why I'm here.

Basically, I look back at my college years and when I think about what professors I actually learned something from. Good Ole' Pein here is high up in the ranks. Her teaching style was unique. She would push us to try stuff we normally would not, and we were encouraged to experiment with our projects even if the outcome was horrendous. So yeah, she is rad and dope and funky fresh, if you will.

Having hardly any Photoshop experience, I really didn't know what to expect out of a 4-day course from Sterling Ledet. Thankfully, Christina kept the class moving at a brisk pace and I learned a lot of tips and tricks I could use to immediately improve the quality of our photo output for both web use and presentation. Thanks Christina!

I was fortunate enough to study under Christina Pein at the Art Institute of California, SD. In many ways she is my mentor, and always a good friend. As a student of Christina I was able to break my own boundaries and discover my own abilities in design. Christina was a major player in helping me find my design style and has always motivated me to BE better.

She is definitely not a push over at all, and expects the same amount of effort from her students that she puts into teaching them (which by the way is a lot). This, I have found was very valuable, and has instilled a great work ethic in me today. I am constantly impressed with her work and her ability to top the last job she's done. (She's good people!)

Alright, I can't say anymore about the lady (don't want her to know I think she's talented or anything). So I will leave this blog with this thought, if you are looking for a creative that will deliver on all levels of design as well as technical know how, Christina will.