After 43 years together, two stalwarts of the San Francisco area graphic design community, Duane Michael Maidens and Daniel Patrick O’Brien, are retiring before year’s end. Shown here: dozens of Bay Area creatives circa 1980.
Category: News
Odgis + Co Offers Snapshot Of University’s Financial Health
The Rockefeller University, a leading biomedical research university tapped Odgis + Co. to help refresh their financial report and create a concise executive summary that captures and underscores 2022’s accomplishments.
Poster House Debuts Major Spring Exhibits
Poster House, the first US museum dedicated to the global history of posters, presents two spring exhibitions — Made in Japan: 20th-Century Poster Art and Black Power to Black People: Branding the Black Panther Party. Exhibition design is by award-winning KASA Collective.
2023 GDUSA People To Watch
For 60 years, the first edition of Graphic Design USA has recognized ‘People to Watch’ who embody the spirit of the creative community. Individuals we know and respect for a combination of talent, success, leadership, newsworthiness, influence, and community service writ large.
Curatorial Team Named For Smithsonian Design Triennial
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum announces that the next Smithsonian Design Triennial, set to open in fall 2024, will be organized by Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Christina L. De Leon, and Michelle Joan Wilkinson.
2023 GDUSA Students To Watch
It’s a long tradition here at GDUSA and it’s back for 2023. With the help of several of America’s leading art and design schools and programs, we once again identify top students ready to burst on the graphic design scene.
Kristin Sugihara Joins 62ABOVE
Sugihara joins 62ABOVE after spending four years as Senior Art Director at Greenhaus in San Diego. Agency clients include Qualcomm, Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Caesar’s Entertainment, and more.
Matt Allen Joins Growing Cutwater
In a period of expansion, creative and media agency Cutwater, with offices in San Francisco and New York City, has bolstered its client services department by tapping Matt Allen as Group Account Director. His clients have included McDonald’s, HP and Pella.
We Get Chills: 60th Annual GDUSA People To Watch
This is the 60th anniversary of our ‘GDUSA People To Watch’ feature, an annual selection of creative an thought-leaders who we respect and who embody the spirit of the creative community.
Propel Rebrand Reinforces Gatorade Roots
Propel’s new brand identity, designed by PepsiCo Design and Innovation, is on shelves now with the rollout expected to be complete by summer. It is accompanied by an ambitious partnership with actor and director Michael B. Jordan.
GDUSA Podcast #8: Paul Flaharty
How is 2023 shaping up for job seekers and hiring managers? Paul Flaharty, executive director of the marketing and creative practice at global talent solutions firm Robert Half, has insights and answers in this GDUSA podcast.
TDC Opens Call For Three Scholarships
The Type Directors Club has opened the call for applications for their three student scholarship programs. The programs all have an entry deadline of March 24.
NYC Marathon Logo Distills Lady Liberty
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv has redesigned the logo for the TCS New York City Marathon. A key goal is to create a powerful and independent brand asset for event and sponsor.
60 Years of GDUSA People To Watch
In anticipation of our 2023 GDUSA People To Watch annual feature, we compiled a roster of People To Watch since 1963. You will find undisputed historical giants, legends and legends-to-be, as well as a few one-hit-wonders.
Girls Who Print Mobilizes For Print HERstory Month
The fifth annual Women’s Print HERstory Month returns in March to inspire the “fierce, fabulous females of print.” Girls Who Print is seeking to mobilize women of the industry around the event.
Carin Goldberg Of Book & Album Cover Fame Passes
Carin Goldberg, a graphic designer who brought a postmodern sensibility to book and album covers, and was at the heart of the vibrant NYC design community of the 1980s – 2000s, died on January 19 at 69.
Rachel Johnson Responsible For Equator Studios Worldwide
Global packaging strategy and design agency, Equator, names Rachel Johnson as new Global MD. She has responsibility for all the company’s studios, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Manchester, Nottingham, and Sydney.
59th GDUSA Design Showcase
Our annual showcase captures the power of creative professionals to serve and shape commerce, culture and causes. Billerud North America, a leading manufacturer of coated graphic and specialty papers, is sponsor. A new ‘Designing For Good’ category is inspired by talent solutions firm Robert Half.
GDUSA’s Top 25 Logos (Once Upon A Time)
Ten years ago, as part of GDUSA’s 50th anniversary celebration, we asked readers to name the best logos of the modern era. The listing was enormously popular at the time, then faded into oblivion. Well… it’s back! And there’s more.
Prophet Logo For Abu Dhabi Evokes Arabic Calligraphy
Prophet has developed a destination brand and campaign for Abu Dhabi that positions the country as open and progressive, unique and wlecoming, and infused with a deep heritage and culture. The campaign appears in the Gulf countries, UK, France and the US.
Drinks Designer Denomination Toasts Three
Drinks specialist Denomination is increasing its capabilities in design innovation and sustainability with new appointees Simon Gawn, Butler Looney and Jonny Kearns. Rowena Curlewis is CEO of the global agency.
‘Branding Nerd’ Paul Collins Returns To Elmwood NY
Elmwood has appointed Paul Collins as Executive Director of Strategy & Innovation, in a role “intended to elevate the agency’s reputation for powerful and provocative brand solutions anchored in tension.”
Chandler to ECD at Vault49
Leigh Chandler has been upped to Executive Creative Director and Operations head Spencer Ryan has been made a partner at New York and London based brand and package design firm Vault49. Chandler now has oversight across the two global studios.
Encyclopedia Of UX Design Set For Spring
Rockport will publish the Universal Principles of UX this spring. The encyclopedia has been compiled with the help of UX experience design guru Irene Pereyra.
DesignStudio Pilots ‘Going’ Rebrand
DesignStudio has rebranded Scott’s Cheap Flights as Going. The new approach focuses less on cost and destination, and more on the excitement and spontaneity of travel.
ThoughtMatter Rethinks ‘Ugly’ Produce
Online grocer Misfits Market looks to continue the brand’s mission of breaking the cycle of food waste with a new private label brand, Odds & Ends.
VSA Celebrates 40 With Video Series
To mark the milestone of its 40th year, VSA sought to do something different from the typical approach. The firm created a video series exploring the power of human-centered design in all forms.
OLI Enters Bejing’s Forbidden City
Mirroring the Heart of Heaven and Earth: Ideals and Images in the Chinese Study, an exhibition designed by New York-based firm OLI Architecture, has opened in the Palace Museum in Beijing’s Forbidden City.
Kevin Hall Design Marks 30 Years
Kevin Hall Design is celebrating 30 years in business. The namesake/founder previously held art director and designer positions with General Foods Corporation and Marketing Corporation of America and will have an exhibition of his work this summer in Milford CT.
Athletics Sets Welcoming Tone For Women’s Healthcare Network
A new identity for women’s healthcare network Tia reflects a more mature visual and verbal identity with the goal of setting a welcoming tone, and underscoring clinical competence and credibility.
Warner Bros. Studio Celebrates Centennial
Chermayeff + Geismar + Haviv has developed the logo for Warner Bros. Discovery’s global centennial campaign, Celebrating Every Story, ahead of the studio’s 100th anniversary this coming April.
Leibowitz Builds Hip Snowman
Design and branding firm Leibowitz has developed a contemporary new brand for holiday icon turned rock star Frosty. The project includes posters and displays, instrument designs, concert tickets, a tour bus and concert stage design.
NAIL Develops Local Identity For Rhode Island Soccer Team
Nail Communications develops a club identity for Rhode Island’s new professional men’s soccer team. Each element of the Rhode Island FC design was crafted with the state’s character and history in mind, seeking a mix of heritage and new energy.
Pantone Color of Year: Viva Magenta
Pantone Color of the Year is Viva Magenta, a nuanced crimson red tone that presents a balance between warm and cool, a hybrid color said to commfortably straddle the physical and virtual, a carmine red “capable of driving design to create a more positive future.”
Audi Flattens Logo
Audi has redesigned its four-ring logo, giving it a new two-dimensional appearance. The new-look emblem also trades the old chrome-colored rings for new black and white ones.
Elegance & Equity In Bon Appétit Rebrand
Bon Appétit magazine has been redesigned. Behind the identity is design studio MCKL and Creative Director Arsh Raziuddin, who came together to bring elegance to the brand and provide a platform for expanded culture-focused content.
George Lois Was ‘Most Influential’
The prolific and often bombastic George Lois has died at 91. A decade ago, GDUSA celebrated its 50th anniversary with a national survey in which readers declared Lois “the most influential Art Director of the past 50 years.”
Turner Duckworth Refocuses Newman’s Own Brand
Turner Duckworth partners with Newman’s Own, the food and beverage company that gives away 100% of its profits, to refresh and create a new visual identity that is intended to reintroduce brand and mission to a new generation.
AIGA Launches New Professional Design Certification
In partnership with learning provider, MindEdge, this new AIGA certification will help designers grow their careers, build leadership skills, and advance the profession. AIGA Chair Manuhuia Barcham of Archetekt says it represents a commitment to lifelong learning.
Inside The RISD Redesign
RISD has introduced a brand identity created by Gretel which incorporates a family of typefaces custom-designed by alumnus Ryan Bugden and a redrawing of the institution’s seven decade old seal, which also continues as the school’s logo.