12 SEGD Fellows
Read Time: 7 minutes
SEGD is celebrating Women’s History Month by honoring our female Fellows and recognizing their portfolios of outstanding work. Read about all 12 of our female Fellows, including their favorite and notable projects.
1991
Deborah Sussman (1931—2014)
The first woman to be honored as an SEGD Fellow, Deborah Sussman is recognized as a pioneer in environmental graphic design. Her passion for the marriage of graphics and the built environment, fueled by her early career at the Eames Office, led to collaborations with planners, architects, and clients. She began working with architects in the late 1960s—founding Sussman/Prejza & Co with husband Paul Prejza—and took on iconic projects including the “look” of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Additional SEGD awards:
– 2006 Gold Arrow Award honoree
Notable Projects:
– 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games – Los Angeles, CA
– Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) identity and exhibits – San Francisco, CA
– City-wide image program for Santa Monica, CA
– Graphics programs for the Walt Disney Company theme parks
More info at:
https://sussmanprejza.com/about-us/
1993
Ann Dudrow
Ann Dudrow studied at the Rhode Island School of Design where she received a BFA in Illustration. After an influential year in Rome, she returned to the States, and worked for the architecture firm RTKL where she served as Director of Graphic Design for more than 20 years. Ann continued her career as Director of Environmental Graphic Design for Westfield, the international real-estate developer based in Paris and London.
1995
Sarah Speare
After serving as Executive Director of SEGD for ten years (1985–1995), SEGD honored Sarah Speare as a Fellow for her contributions to the field of EGD and for building SEGD into the organization we know today. Her extensive leadership experience as a non-profit executive, entrepreneur and designer has led to other projects, including community design consultant to nonprofits throughout New England and an 8-year run as the Executive Director of the Institute of Humane Education.
1998
Debra Nichols
Debra Nichols found her creative expertise at the intersection of architecture, communication, and art. She believes that for anything to truly succeed—to create the spirit of the place and contribute to life in a meaningful way—it must be beautiful. Early in her career, Debra worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) where she eventually became Associate Partner before starting her own firm, Deborah Nichols Design, in San Francisco in 1991.
More info at:
http://www.debranicholsdesign.com/firm.aspx
1999
Janet Martin
Janet Martin is passionate about creating retail experiences that bring brands and communities to life. Over her 30-plus-year career, Janet managed projects in the United States and abroad including retail planning, signage, and wayfinding. Janet partnered with Henry Beer and Richard Foy in CommArts, the Colorado-based firm that received international acclaim for its design and visual communications work. CommArts completed more than 3,000 projects for clients worldwide and is now part of Stantec.
2003
Denise Scott Brown
Architect, urban planner, theorist, writer and educator—Denise Scott Brown has done it all! But one book in particular put Denise on the map, Learning from Las Vegas (1972). Written with Robert Venturi and Steven Izenour, this influential text kicked-off the Postmodern movement in architecture and design. At age 89, Denise is still actively engaged with the design world, currently writing a book about the relationships between photography and architecture.
Notable projects:
– The Philadelphia Crosstown Community – Philadelphia, PA
– University of Michigan master plan – Ann Arbor, MI
– Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery – London, UK
– Haute-Garonne capitol building – Toulouse, France
More info at:
http://venturiscottbrown.org
2007
Chris Calori
Chris Calori is a founding partner of New York City-based Calori & Vanden-Eynden, also known as CVEDesign, now merged with Toronto-based Entro Communications. Together with CVE founding partner David Vanden-Eynden, Chris built an internationally recognized—and award winning—design firm specializing in the planning and design of signage and wayfinding programs. Chris authored the acclaimed book Signage and Wayfinding Design: A Complete Guide to Creating Environmental Graphic Design Systems (2007), now in its second edition (2015), co-authored with David.
Additional SEGD awards:
– 2002 Distinguished Member Award
Notable projects:
– Roosevelt Island signage and wayfinding – New York, NY
– Crate & Barrel World Headquarters signage and wayfinding – Northbrook, IL
– Stocking Hall at Cornell University – Ithaca, NY
– Amtrak Acela signage and wayfinding – Northeast, USA
More info at:
https://entro.com/work/wayfinding/
https://cvedesign.com/work/
2010
Virginia Gehshan
Virginia Gehshan and Jerome Cloud both received the SEGD Fellow Award in 2010. Their firm, Cloud Gehshan Associates, is best known for groundbreaking work on large, multi-component projects such as university campuses, medical centers, and park systems. Virginia’s work integrates identity, storytelling, signage, and information systems in a process called placebranding. She has also played a central role in developing client tools, the EGD Process Guide and authoring the SEGD Standard Form of Agreement.
Additional SEGD awards:
– 1995 Angel Award
– SEGD President 1992-1993
Notable projects:
– University Center, University of Maryland – Baltimore, MD
– Johns Hopkins interactive kiosk – Baltimore, MD
– Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Boston, MA
More info at:
https://www.cloudgehshan.com
https://segd.org/trailblazing-women-egd-virginia-gehshan
2011
Robin Perkins
Robin Perkins co-founded Selbert Perkins Design with Clifford Selbert. Their firm has developed a reputation for creative and strategic approaches to EGD exemplified by their large-scale sculptural work––perhaps most famously the LAX gateway project––changing the notion of what environmental graphic design can do for public spaces. Robin has national and international recognition for design excellence in her major projects which often integrate landscape architecture, public art, and communications.
Notable projects:
– Seven Hills Park – Somerville, MA
– Canal City Hakata – Fukuoka, Japan
– LAX International Airport – Los Angeles, CA
– Pacific Design Center – West Hollywood, CA
– Las Vegas Gateway Arches – Las Vegas, NV
More info at:
https://selbertperkins.com
2013
Sue Gould
Sue Gould began her design career in 1967 working on the Man & Agriculture pavilion for Expo 67 in Montreal, helping to pioneer the field of environmental graphic design. An early specialist in themed graphics for shopping centers and an expert in signage for landmark buildings, Sue has been a master connector, helping to build the SEGD community while nurturing her own New York design consultancy: Lebowitz | Gould | Design. Sue also served as President of SEGD from 1989-1990.
Additional SEGD awards:
– 1994 Angel Award
2018
Jane Davis Doggett
Jane Davis Doggett trained at the Yale School of Art and Architecture during its modernist heyday. She studied with Josef Albers, Louis Kahn and Alvin Eisenman, whose teachings in the fields of architecture and graphic design led Jane from Yale to become one of America’s leading graphic designers. Her colorful and comprehensive thematic graphic identity and wayfinding systems now enliven many public complexes, including 40 international airport projects—more than any other designer in the world.
More info at:
SEGD Interview:
https://segd.org/members/jane-davis-doggett-environmental-graphics-pioneer
SEGD 2018 Fellow Award video:
https://vimeo.com/275899191
2019
Paula Scher
Paula Scher has been a partner in the New York office of Pentagram since 1991. She began her career as an art director in the 1970s and early 80s, when her eclectic approach to typography became highly influential. Later, Paula’s graphic identities for Citibank and Tiffany & Co became case studies for the contemporary regeneration of American brands. Her work has been exhibited around the world and is represented in the permanent collections of major museums. She is also the author of Make It Bigger (2002) and MAPS (2011).
Notable projects:
– NYC Beaches – New York, NY
– The Public Theater lobby – New York, NY
– Parsons School of Design donor wall – New York, NY
– MuseumLab – Pittsburgh, PA
– The High Line – New York, NY
– Quad Cinema – New York NY
More info at:
https://www.pentagram.com/about/paula-scher
https://segd.org/virtual-tour-new-york-city-high-line-reopening-and-adapting