Category Archives: Faculty

Star illustrators, Bob Peak’s son discuss design evolution

From left: Aaron Smith, Tom Peak, Paul Rogers and Josh Cochran

A pair of star illustrators and Art Center alums Paul Rogers and Josh Cochran, as well as Tom Peak, son of late, legendary illustrator Bob Peak, swapped stories of how broke beginnings turned into landing major ad and editorial campaigns.

“I was eating Ramen, and my girlfriend was buying gas,” Cochran said of his early days as an illustrator.

“I had a plan to make $500 a month … and my girlfriend worked in a restaurant, so I thought I’d be good with food,” added Art Center faculty member Rogers.

The hour-long discussion, moderated by faculty member Aaron Smith, took place Tuesday evening at the Hillside campus, and was capped off with a book signing and drinks.

Peak kicked off the conversation by revealing his father’s first paying gig as an artist. “At 17, he lied about his age and joined the Navy, and during his downtime, he drew portraits” for a fee, he said.

In the 1940s, Bob Peak attended Art Center where he studied illustration while working as the school’s cook, groundskeeper and janitor. “My mother was an art student, and she and my dad met in the cafeteria while he was busing trays,” Peak said.

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Faculty member Uta Barth named 2012 MacArthur fellow

Photographer and Art Center College of Design faculty member Uta Barth is among the 23 recipients of the prestigious and lucrative “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Each of the 2012 fellows will receive $500,000 over the next five years. Recipients range from a geochemist probing the earth’s crust to a pediatric neurosurgeon treating intra-cranial diseases.

Winners in the fields of art and design include documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, whose work explores the consequences of military conflict; and social services innovator Maurice Lim Miller, whose design projects track and reward self-sufficiency in low-income neighborhoods.

Barth was born in Berlin in 1958 and now resides in Los Angeles. She’s been an adjunct faculty member at Art Center since 2001.

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Spring appeal springs ahead: Total giving jumps 330%

Karen Hofmann, chair of the Product Design department.

The results are in from the Art Center 2012 Annual Fund spring fundraising appeal, and the numbers are impressive indeed. The Fund, which provides critical support for the College’s most immediate needs and initiatives, saw a surge in support from alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and other friends.

Total giving jumped a whopping 330 percent over last year, and overall participation was up 42 percent.

Why the sudden (and deeply appreciated) increase? Kristine Bowne, Art Center alumni relations director, and Karen Hofmann, chair of the Product Design department, offered their thoughts.

Art Center: Kristine, what are alumni telling you about their increased interest in supporting their alma mater?

Kristine Bowne: Many alumni are telling me they feel good about the direction of the College. They also feel more connected. We’ve made an effort to rebuild lines of communication between them and the president, and I think they are excited about the thoughtful way they’ve been involved in planning Art Center’s future.

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Innovative design in India topic at Live Talks

President Lorne Buchman, left, and Trustee and Idealab CEO Bill Gross at Live Talks

Art Center College of Design President Lorne Buchman and Idealab CEO and Art Center Trustee Bill Gross bonded over socially conscious design in India Thursday morning at Live Talks Business Forums, a one-hour conversation focused on innovation and design held in downtown Los Angeles.

Through WorldHaus, longtime entrepreneur Gross has ventured into creating eco-friendly, modular housing in more rural parts of India starting at $2,000. Buchman highlighted furniture created by a Designmatters student that features creative seating with storage for low-income city-dwellers in Bangalore.

“We have to go make a deal with that student and start that right away!” said Gross.

WorldHaus has the goal of adding 200 homes in India this year and increasing that number to 1 million houses by decade’s end. The for-profit company manufactures the structures for $1,800 and owners pay $200 down and $10 a month.

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Designmatters alum wins grant with ‘Where’s Daryl?’

"Where's Daryl?" includes YouTube videos, posters and Facebook pages

A faculty member and alumna from Art Center’s Designmatters program is among the 13 grant recipients in this year’s SAPPI Ideas that Matter, a program that helps designers create print projects for charitable causes.

Maria Moon developed the Where’s Daryl Teachers Guide, a series of curriculum tools to teach teens the realities of gun violence.

The concept and campaign was conceived by students Thomas Banuelos, Damon Casarez, Rhombie Sandoval and Alex Cheng in the Designmatters UNCOOL Studio, along with instructors Elena Salij, Advertising, and Allison Goodman, Graphic Design.

Instead of using images and statistics, which can be too abstract for pre-teens, “Where’s Daryl?” consists of YouTube videos, posters and Facebook pages showing Daryl missing basketball and his girlfriend while he deals with criminal charges.

The pilot program will be implemented this fall and spring in partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District.

The annual SAPPI  Ideas that Matter, now in its 13th year, focuses on using design to create social change by pairing designers with nonprofits from around the world to implement their ideas.

“[Ideas that Matter] is a rare platform that brings to the forefront outstanding talent and initiatives that speak loud and clear about the potency of design driven by purpose,” said Mariana Amatullo, vice president of the Designmatters department.

This year’s SAPPI judging panel included five designers from across the country recognized for their commitment to solving social problems.

Sappi Fine Paper North America launched Ideas that Matter in 1999, and since that time, has awarded more than $12 million in grants worldwide.

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Art Center President Lorne Buchman talks social change

Idealab CEO Bill Gross, left, and Art Center president Lorne Buchman

Two leading innovators take center stage at Live Talks Business Forums’ first event of the season. Art Center College of Design President Lorne Buchman will interview Idealab CEO Bill Gross about entrepreneurs’ role in social change on Thursday at 8:15 a.m. at architectural firm Gensler’s offices in downtown Los Angeles.

The one-hour talk includes a behind-the-scenes-look at Gross’ latest venture WorldHaus, which manufactures and builds customized homes for families in the developing world for less than $2,000.

A longtime entrepreneur, Gross has launched more than 100 companies in the last 42 years, 40 of which have gone public or been acquired, including the first online business directory (CitySearch), the first paid search engine (Goto.com/Overture) and the first online car retailer (CarsDirect).

Prior to his tenure at Art Center Buchman ran a private consulting firm that focused on identifying philanthropic and private investment sources for nonprofits. Art Center is also home to Designmatters, an innovative program that fuses design and social change.

Live Talks Business Forums are a breakfast-hour series featuring leading executives and thought leaders to give the Los Angeles business community a chance to connect, network and hear new insights.

Tickets are $20 and include a continental breakfast served at 7:45 a.m. Gensler is located at 500 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles.

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Meet Environmental Design alumna Zorine Pooladian

Designer Zorine Pooladian ENVL '12.

Sometimes finding your true calling can feel like flipping on a light switch. Just ask designer Zorine Pooladian ENVL ’12.

The Environmental Design alum was first turned on to the world of lighting design in an Art Center at Night (ACN) course; these days she’s working on a lighting project she plans to unveil at New York Design Week next year.

We sat down recently with Pooladian to ask her about her ACN experience, and here’s what she told us:

“I have always loved art and architecture. I grew up in a 300-year-old house in Iran that had high ceilings and walls covered in paintings. As a child, I remember being amazed that somebody could leave something behind that would last for centuries.” Continue reading →

Faculty Member Sean Adams Donates Proceeds of MOO.COM Collaboration to Art Center Scholarship Fund

Art Center faculty member Sean Adams.

Sean Adams

Art Center faculty member Sean Adams, partner and co-founder of the branding and strategic design firm AdamsMorioka, recently collaborated with MOO.COM to create their newest collection of high-end business cards for The Luxe Project.

When deciding which charity would receive 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of the business cards, Sean selected the Art Center Scholarship Fund and the purchase of any cards in Adams’ three collections—totaling 42 different designs—between now and the end of August will benefit Art Center students.

You can purchase any of Adams’ designs — Pattern and Colour, Sad Places or Ships Ahoy! — from MOO.COM.

Commenting on his choice to support the Art Center Scholarship Fund, Adams said, “As a teacher I’ve seen too many remarkable people leave school because they couldn’t afford to continue. When I see a student who is brilliant, passionate and who works like a dog, lose the resources to finish school, it is a loss not just to his or her own experience. It’s a loss of an incredible resource and voice to the world.

“None of us would have become successful without the help of the generation ahead of us. I myself wouldn’t have finished school without scholarship help,” he continued. “It feels great to know that I can give back and be a small part in making Art Center students the most incredible and successful designers graduating in the world today.”

As part of MOO’s efforts to make quality products and top-level design available for anyone to create their own unique identity, Luxe Business Cards are high-quality, super-thick, customizable cards that feature limited edition designs.

Adams said, “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to design cards for anyone to use and that MOO has given me the ability to support our future designers in this way. So thrilled that I couldn’t stop with just one collection, so I designed three.”

Images and more information about the designs follow. Continue reading →