This winter, GDUSA introduced a “Designing For Good” category as part of our annual American Graphic Design Awards™ competition. This is the first in a series of six articles that take a deeper look at the category winners, their work, and the impact of their winning projects.
Category: Blog
How Molson Coors and BrandOpus Have Grown a Relationship of Trust
Molson Coors has grown its brand for many consecutive quarters. One reason: its close relationship of trust with branding agency Brand Opus. Caroline Winnington of the agency and Stewart Yepes of Molson Coors discuss.
The Makeup Of A Challenger Brand Marketing Team
Thoughts from Brigade, a leading branding firm, on what makes challenger brand marketing teams click and what type of agency they should be working with.
How To Fail A Creative Internship …
A failed creative internship became a reality check for Max Ottignon of Ragged Edge. Out of the crucible, he learned that discipline, hard work and high standards can lead to having your own successful agency.
Charles Nix: Uproar Over State Department Font Switch
The U.S. State Department’s February decision to switch to a Calibri sans serif from Times New Roman is creating an uproar; everyone is waking up to the idea that typography matters.
Andy Askren: Purpose-Driven Brands Are Setting New Standards For Measurement
Andy Askren of Grady Britton argues that purpose-driven marketing must have standards for measuring success and creating impact if consumers are to fully believe in it and embrace it. He sees progress.
Michael Duffy: The Next Evolution In Intelligent Packfronts and Design
The evolution of smart packaging has only just begun, and the next great innovations are closer than we think. So contends Michael Duffy, Global Creative Director and Board Director at Equator.
Best State To Be A Graphic Designer?
It is only one survey, but new research has revealed that Nebraska is the best state in the US to work as a graphic designer. The study by Pixlr.com, a leading web-based photo editor, analyzed US Census Bureau data to make the discovery.
R/GA’s Vano: The Essential Trifecta of Verbal Design
Jennifer Vano of R/GA contend that you can’t build a brand to last, a brand to positively influence business and people, a brand that’s multidimensional and that people trust and believe in, without Verbal Design.
Sasha Kaye-Walsh: 10 Favorite 2022 Stories
GDUSA remains committed to more and better editorial coverage of the creative community in 2023 – our 60th year – but until then below are web and social media editor Sasha Kaye-Walsh’s 10 favorite stories of 2022.
Romano and Treacy Talk Type At Museum of Print
A meeting between two important figures in modern print, type and graphic arts history at the Museum of Printing – Frank Romano and Joe Treacy (shown here) – led to two fascinating interviews about the pioneering days of digital type.
Meg Beckum on Authentic Healthcare Design
Meg Beckum, executive creative director at design consultancy Elmwood, on why healthcare organizations need to move on from a cold and clinical approach to brand design.
The Future of Sales: Creating A Digital Experience
Award winning designer Krystal Pratt argues that the use of digitally interactive sales material creates not only a pandemic proof sales process but a more immersive experience for the future of design.
Full Sail Students Customize Land Rover
Full Sail University Graphic Design students recently worked along side the school’s creative department to the design of a custom Land Rover to appear in the Rebelle Rally, a women’s off-road navigation rally.
SF, Miami, NYC Top 2022 Artsiest Cities
To mark International Artists Day, Lawn Love compared the 200 biggest US cities to rank 2022’s Most Artsy Cities in America. Link to full rankings inside.
3 Lessons After Spending 5 Mil On Facebook Ads
Ted Chong of Ice Cube Marketing on the 3 lessons of Facebook advertising, based on millions spent by Ice Cube Marketing as well as its status as a Meta partner agency.
Arash Rod: Designing For Chatbots
Arash Rod, UI expert and Lead Artist at chat experience platform Provider GameOn Technology, believes that one way to add personality to chatbot applications is through unique design elements, such as GIFs and videos.
Sessions College Develops PLA Program For Working Pros and Adult Learners
Dr. Meryl Epstein on degree programs offered by Sessions College and their new Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program developed for adult learners and working professionals.
Top 5 Reasons To Attend MAX 2022
MAX is one of the largest gatherings of graphic, web, UX, and multi-skilled designers. GDUSA readers save $400 on a full conference pass with promo code M22GDUSA. In-person attendance is limited so register early at adobe.com/go/maxgdusa
Gordon Kaye: Breaking The Cycle Of Distrust
GDUSA’s Gordon Kaye with thoughts on our 59th Annual Inhouse Design Awards showcase and why inhouse designers are in a position to create an upcycle of effective, authentic and trustworthy communications. Just when we need it the most.
Building a Career In Art and Design
This Q&A with educator Eric Rosenfeld and designer Camdon Wilde explores how Full Sail University successfully prepares its students with the tools to embark on their professional career.
AIGA Promotes The Vote
In the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, AIGA has created resources to encourage all voting-age populations to exercise their civic rights.
Molly Ungs: Consumers Want Sustainable Packaging. But Are We Ready For It?
Molly Ungs argues that the most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place. Both brands and consumers need to participate in the journey to address and change how we consume and dispose of the products we buy.
Deroy Peraza: Branding Nonprofits Is Different From Companies
Branding commercial enterprises and purpose-centric nonprofits are two vastly different projects, argues Deroy Peraza, and the reasons for those differences are important to understand.
RD Scudellari: Iconic Book Jacket Designer In Golden Age Of Books
Graphic designer Bob Scudellari died on June 3, 2022. He was best known for bold, typographic book jackets during a 26-year tenure as Vice President and Corporate Art Director at Random House.
C-90 Designs for a Nurturing Environment
When NMU’s College of Graduate Studies & Research asked C-90 to create a visual identity to increase their visibility and public awareness, it presented a fascinating design problem.
Carbon Footprint Of Online Advertising Is Significant
fifty-five, a global MarTech consultancy conducted a study on the carbon impact of advertising campaigns, with a primary focus on digital. The study is available as an open-source tool.
Fonts Rooted In Calligraphy Are The Most Trustworthy
Collated in collaboration with Neurons, a new study from Monotype finds that the right type can boost positive reader response by 13%.
Salahuddin: Corporate Boards and ESG Reporting
Rashida Salahuddin is spearheading the Corporate Citizenship Project to address the challenges and ethical issues she has seen first-hand in the field of corporate governance. She is believer that corporate America should be transparent and practice what they preach.
Troup (Almost) Breaks TikTok
Troup is a branding and design firm whose first foray into TikTok – for TurboTax – generated close to 7 billion impressions.
Knapp: Accessibility Is Fundamental
Peter Knapp, Group Chairman, Landor & Fitch, on Global Accessibility Day. He argues that making products and experiences both accessible and inclusive should be the fundamental building block of modern design and brand responsibility.
Anna Sing Creates A Bouquet Of Typefaces
Anna Sing, a multi-disciplinary designer based in New York City, went on a frenetic 15-week effort to create four fonts inspired by the history of houseplants.
So: Brands Must Get Social & Political
Alan So of the Skona agency on why brands should be affluent in social/cultural ideologies and not just on product anymore. Airbnb, Target, Patagonia provide good and relevant examples.
Parsons’ Core Creative Agency At 50
Parsons’ Core Creative Agency is celebrating its 50th anniversary. This in-house design department looks back and looks forward as it continues to express and protect the essence of the brand, product, and mission.
In Memoriam: Harvey Hunt (1949-2022)
Harvey Hunt of Berthold Types passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on April 3. He will be missed and he will be remembered for his very real contributions to the worlds of digital type and graphic arts.
Gordon Kaye: Our 2022 Package Design Awards
Our 59th anniversary package design awards program is among the largest – and is certainly the most selective – we have organized. This is all the more significant as it comes against the backdrop of a boom in the packaging industry.
Grady: Motion Is Branding’s Future
Kevin Grady is a Senior Partner in design at Lippincott, a global creative consultancy, where he spearheads programs out of the San Francisco office. He contends that motion design is the future of branding.
Phil Hamlett: Alexa Show Changes The Conversation
As a former AIGA national board member and co-author of The Living Principles for Design, Phil Hamlett discusses how designers must stretch and grow as design breaks free from print and even screens.
Gwen O’Brien: Crypto, NFTs and Design
An interview with Gwen O’Brien, an award-winning designer, currently working on her latest project, Design X Collective, a decentralized design studio in the metaverse. She specializes in NFTs, the blockchain, and the future of graphic design.
Posters Celebrate Oscars And Pop Art
Shutterstock has released 10 bespoke pop art movie posters that honor the Best Picture nominees at the 94th Academy Awards, marking its decade-long annual Oscar Pop! poster series.