Art Center’s Advertising Department Chair Gary Goldsmith. Photo: Chuck Spangler
This year, Graphic Design USA turns 50 years old. To celebrate the occasion the magazine has asked its readers to name the most influential graphic designers, art directors, corporate design departments and more of the past 50 years.
The publication plans to unveil the results of its 50th Anniversary Survey throughout the year. Not surprisingly, several Art Center faculty and alumni have made the list so far.
For this post, we’ll focus on Art Center alumni from the world of advertising in the survey, which includes Advertising Department Chair Gary Goldsmith ADVT 81 listed among the “Most Influential Art Directors of the Last 50 Years.”
“I’m honored to be included in that group,” said Goldsmith of making the list, a space he shares with fellow alumni David Peterson GRPK 88 and Tracy Wong ADVT 84. “I know most of them, and have worked with many of them during my career.”
In addition to the “Most Influential Art Director” list, Graphic Design USA also asked its readers input on the “Most Influential Ad Agency of the Past 50 Years.” Advertising agencies in the survey that count Art Center alumni among their employees include BBDO, CP+B, Fallon, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, JWT, Leo Burnett, The Richards Group, TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, Wieden+Kennedy, and Y&R.
See below for a complete list of alumni who have worked or are currently working at these firms.
“One thing I try to impress upon our students, and something that everyone on that list has, is a love for what they do and the drive to keep getting better at it,” added Goldsmith. “It’s not about one idea, one campaign, one big year. It’s about getting up every single day and bringing the intensity level required to do something that will have an impact, year after year.”
Alumni who have worked or are currently working at ad agencies listed in Graphic Design USA‘s 50th Anniversary Survey in the category of “Most Influential Ad Agency of the Past 50 Years.”
- Daniel Bremmer ADVT 03
- Diana Chen ADVT 11
- Eric Van Skyhawk ADVT 97
- Yoko Fujita ADVT 04
- Nancy Nelms ADVT 91
- Karin Birch GRPK 91
- Todd Grant ADVT 89
- Steven Payonzeck ADVT 94
- Syuzanna Yeranosyan ADVT 09
- Benjamin Chiang ADVT 04
- Patricia Chiono ADVT 76
- Innekey Leung GRPK 96
- Peter Nicholson ADVT 94
- Guan Tay ADVT 90
- William Thompson PHOT 93
- Bill Thompson PHOT 95
- Greg Thompson ENVL 85
- John Wagner ADVT 86
- Jennifer Disini GRPK 95
- Peter Lohmeier ADVT 74
- Tiong-Huat Ong ADVT 89
- Glenn Dady ADVT 80
- Peter Everitt ADVT 98
- Yvette Wheeler GRPK 98
- Daniel Chu ADVT 94
- Bory Chung GRPH 06
- Jessica Edelstein ADVT 91
- Adrian Gross ADVT 02
- Xanthe Hohalek ADVT 03
- Tzu-Ti Huang GRPH 12
- Kelly Jeon GRPK 96
- Blake Kidder ADVT 04
- Lori McMichael ADVT 08
- Steven Ramdhani ADVT 98
- Amy Reichenback GRPH 06
- Helena Scheider GRPH 07
- Gary Stalker ADVT 03
- Paxton Yue ADVT 05
- Matthew Carroll GMDP 02
- Adam Chang ADVT 11
- Ramon Coronado GRPH 09
- Ericson Cruz GRPK 96
- Charles Curtis ADVT 90
- Irene Kugelmann COMM 94
- Shane Lester GRPK 04
- Robert Palmer ADVT 92
- Julia Tsao GMDP 09
- Joel Adamich ADVT 98
- Julie Chang ADVT 95
- Clayton Chu ADVT 98
- Gary Goldsmith ADVT 81
- Scott McDonald ADVT 93
- Keith Whitmer ADVT 80
Stay tuned to the Dotted Line for additional results from the magazine’s survey.
There are many Art Center alumni who work at the firms listed above and we’ve done our best to capture them all. However, we realize we may be missing a few. If you discover more, let us know at proffice@artcenter.edu and we’ll update the story accordingly.
– Mike Winder
Special thanks to Matt O’Brien from the office of Alumni Relations for his assistance with this story.
