    
|
ROBERT VALENTINE
THE VALENTINE GROUP
Robert Valentine's career has been devoted to creating desire, which made Creating Desire the perfect title for his 2001 book documenting the best catalog design in fashion and home furnishings. Valentine was instrumental in the creation of one of the most successful consumer magazines in recent history, Real Simple. He also helped develop and launch one of the most successful book franchises ever: the Chic Simple series. Valentine fine-tuned Martha Stewart Living during its infancy, and in 2002 he redesigned Step Inside Design magazine. Valentine has also spearheaded branding, rebranding, advertising and identity campaigns for some of the most prestigious fashion and retail names in the world: Neiman Marcus, Henri Bendel, Williams-Sonoma, J. Crew, Sundance, Conran's Habitat (London), Target, Robert Marc, Aveda, Crabtree & Evelyn and Noriko Maeda, among them. Prior to establishing The Valentine Group in 1991, Valentine held creative management positions with Conran's/Habitat, Bloomingdale's and Dayton Hudson and Donaldson's department stores. Valentine's clients have included Mohawk Paper Mills, The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kravet Fabrics, Interface, United Healthcare, CondéNast, Time, Ford North America, Martha Stewart, The New Yorker and The White House. His work is part of the permanent collections at museums including the Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Institution and The Victoria and Albert Museum. He has won over 100 awards in packaging and design and sat on the board of directors for the New York chapter of the AIGA.
Was graphic design your first career path?
As a student, I took art classes and initially thought I would be a fine artist — a printmaker or painter — largely because I wasn't aware of any other art-related careers. An internship in graphic design opened up a whole world to me, one in which elements of fine art could be incorporated into more commercial work. My career path appeared before me.
What role does "green design" play in your work?
These considerations are built into every project we take on. Our main goal is simply to create a product that is not disposable. We try to design with multiple functions in mind: a piece that contains useful information or becomes art and is thus worth keeping; or, at the very least, that can be recycled.
Should graphic design be an instrument for positive social change?
As individuals and as communities, we are all responsible for bringing about positive social change. Our decade-long collaboration with Interface is built around the concept of sustainability, of achieving a no-waste footprint by 2020. The "Mission Zero" identity we created for them distinguishes the company from its competitors and sets an important new standard for other businesses to follow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|