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Faculty Member

Dan Hatch

Biography

Professor Dan Hatch is an associate professor in the Interaction & User Experience Design Emphasis of the Web Design and Development Bachelors Program at Utah Valley University. He set up the UX Research Lab with usability and eye-tracking equipment to support the curriculum.

Dan serves as the co-chair of the Academic Scheduling Committee and many other universities, colleges, and department organizations. He is a mentors student interns in the Smith College of Engineering and Technology Marketing POD. He also serves as a mentor to the ProdUX student club.

He has also taught UX design at the University of Utah, Neumont University, and Dev Point Labs. He has worked with the Front UX conference organization, managing volunteer students at their conferences and workshops for the past 5 years.

As a businessman, Dan was the Director of UX and a Partner at the Rain Agency with a combined count of 45 employees. Rain created digital software products, voice experience design and development, AR projects, software-to-hardware integration, marketing, digital advertising, and mobile iOS/Android and desktop software apps. Previously, he was a partner at Sundog Creative as the president for 5 years.

Additionally, from 1992 to 1999, he was a Partner and Graphics Manager at Label Express, a premier Flexographic printing shop in Utah Valley. With experience in printing and design, he pioneered a management system for orders, tracking, and general processes used throughout the company. In 1999, with 90 employees, they sold Label Express to the Impaxx Corporation.

Earlier, he was the manager of the Flexographic Design Group at SoftCopy, Inc. a division of WordPerfect, Inc. for more than 4 years. He pioneered automation for the prepress process for Flexographic printing presses at the start of the desktop publishing revolution. Dan has also managed many different workgroups over his career and enjoys working with clients and employees.

Over his career, he has owned several other businesses, including cabinetry, software development, and equipment manufacturing. He has managed employees from hiring, payroll, administration, and other duties. Dan has combined 30 years of experience in the business, design, and internet industries. He has a passion for the creative industry and has been involved in many cutting-edge projects.

Education

MFA, Vermont College of Fine Arts, 2015

Major: Graphic Design

BS, Art Institute of Pittsburg, 2008

Major: Graphic Design

AAS, Utah Valley Community College, 1990

Major: Graphic Design & Printing Technology

Teaching

DWDD 1400

Digital Design Essentials, Spring 2026

DWDD 4240

Experience Design Process, Spring 2026

DWDD 2410

Interaction Design, Spring 2026

DWDD 2410R

Interaction Design Practicum, Spring 2026

DWDD 4900R

Senior Capstone, Spring 2026

DWDD 2700R

Special Topics in Web Design and Development, Spring 2026

Presentations

Hatch, Dan , AI Institute AI Lunch Break, "Lovable is in the air!", UVU Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute, Norman Write Classroom, UVU Keller Building. (April 8, 2026)
Hatch, Dan (Author Only), AI Institute AI Lunch Break, "AI as a Thinking Partner Lecture", UVU Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute, Norman Write Classroom, UVU Keller Building. (March 25, 2026)
Hatch, Dan (Author Only), Sabbatical Report 2026, "Sabbatical Report", Department of Digital Media, Orem. (February 20, 2026)
Hatch, Dan (Presenter & Author), AI Agentic Workflows, "Product Design in an Agentic Age", Applied Informatics, Edinburgh Napier University. (December 3, 2025)
Hatch, Dan (Author Only), Service Management and Design Cohort , "Accidental Entrepreneur in an Agentic Age", Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Scotland. (November 27, 2025)
Hatch, Dan , i-ETC 2025 Conferece, "Digital Twins in the Ancient and Historic World", IEEE, Smith College of Engineering and Technology and various other sponsors, Utah Valley University. (May 10, 2025)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Hatch, Dan , "Array" .
Hedrick, Emily , Hatch, Dan , Oliver, Eric , (2025) "Digital Twins in the Ancient and Historical World" . Orem, Utah: 2025 Intermountain Engineering, Technology and Computing (IETC).
Cheney, Paul W., Hatch, Dan , Oliver, Ed.D. Eric, (2023) "Implementing a Competency-Based Education Curriculum in a Semester Format Across Individual and Group Courses" . IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ietc57902.2023.10152270
Oliver, Eric , Hatch, Daniel , (2022) "Developing & Implementing a System of Rubrics for Assessing Interaction Design Students" . Orem, Utah: 2022 Intermountain Engineering, Technology and Computing (IETC). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9796983
Hedrick, Emily , Harper, Michael , Oliver, Eric , Hatch, Dan , (2022) "Teaching & Learning in Virtual Reality Metaverse Classroom Exploration" . https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9796765
Hatch, Dan , Christensen, Seth , Oliver, Eric , (2020) "Developing Student Rubrics For Creative Evaluation" (Issue: 2-3 Oct. 2020, vol. i-ETC Conference 2020). Orem: IEEE Xplore. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9249207

Awards

CET Exceptional Faculty Service Award 2025

Smith College of Engineering and Technology - April 8, 2025

Exceptional Faculty Service Award 2025

Service-Learning Superstar Award 2022-2023

UVU Center for Social Impact - February 2, 2023

For providing students with outstanding service-learning experiences. Also for continued contributions to the University and community. Awarded during the 2021-2022 academic year.

2022 Tenure Rank of Associate Professor to the Department of Digital Media

Utah Valley University Academic Affairs - July 1, 2022

Rank Advancement

2019 CET Service Excellence Award

College of Engineering and Technology - March 1, 2019

2019 College of Engineering & Technology Excellence Awards (aka Dean’s Award of Excellence.) CET AWARD - Service Excellence

2019 Faculty Excellence Award

Faculty Senate - March 1, 2019

The faculty receiving these awards have demonstrated their support of our mission of student success through exemplary teaching and we are pleased to pay tribute to them.

Best Curriculum Creation

Digital Media Department - December 01, 2018

Best Curriculum Creation in the Digital Media Department