2022 Achievement Awards: Setting the Standard for Excellence
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We’re still riding a high from the 2022 SEGD Conference Experience Portland and celebrating our award winners! On Day 3 of the conference, SEGD honored eleven recipients with Achievement Awards, recognizing the people and companies who are setting the standard for excellence in experiential graphic design.
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SEGD Distinguished Member Award
Christina Lyons
Associate Professor and Chairperson, FIT Graduate Exhibition and Experience Design
The SEGD Distinguished Member Award recognizes an individual for demonstrating outstanding volunteer efforts while significantly contributing to the direction, growth, and excellence of SEGD programs. Past winners include P. Michael Anderson, and Anthony Ferrara.
From 2016 through 2021, Christina Lyons served on the SEGD Board, specifically in the role of Education Liaison, keeping her fellow Board members informed about the latest in design education. Christina is well qualified in this area, currently serving as Professor and Chairperson of Graduate Exhibition & Experience Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY in New York City. Previous to her career in higher education, Christina practiced design at SKOLNICK Architecture + Design, serving as Director of Graphics and working with clients such as the New York Historical Society, Muzeiko Children’s Museum in Bulgaria, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, Sony, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Center for Architecture.
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SEGD Innovation Award
Andrusko Group
The SEGD Innovation Award recognizes members who have demonstrated innovative expertise and processes that have expanded the potential impact and engagement of experiential and environmental graphic design. Past recipients include: SignAgent, 22 Miles, and Designtex.
Founded in 1990 by Peter Andrusko, the Andrusko Group combines the latest in digital technologies and robotics with traditional stone craftwork to create a range of finished products for designers and architects, from environmental graphics to public memorials and sculpture. The studio’s recent commission to design and fabricate the extraordinary “Victory” bas-relief at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, used CNC robotics technology to rough into shape 300 individual granite parts which the Andrusko team then hand-finished and fit into place. The Andrusko Group’s work exceeds the standards and vision of what is possible in stone, expanding the range of options for experiential designers.
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SEGD Insight Award
Bryan Stevenson
The SEGD Insight Award recognizes visionary clients who demonstrate the impact of experiential design by commissioning projects and initiatives that significantly enhance or promote opportunities for the field and practitioners. Past recipients include: Mayor Muriel Bowser, NYCEDC, and The American Museum of Natural History.
Bryan Stevenson is an American lawyer, social justice activist, law professor, and founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama. Mr. Stevenson has initiated major new anti-poverty and anti-discrimination efforts that challenge inequality in America. He led the creation of two highly acclaimed cultural sites which opened in 2018: the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (SEGD 2020 Global Design Awards, Best of Show). These new national landmark institutions chronicle the legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial segregation, and the connection to mass incarceration and contemporary issues of racial bias.
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SEGD Educator Award
Yeohyun Ahn
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design + Interactive Media, Faculty Affiliate, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The SEGD Educator Award recognizes academic members who have demonstrated the cultivation and practice of design across practice areas of SEGD, namely, experiential and environmental graphic design, interaction design, exhibition design, creative technology, installation and public good projects. Past recipients include: Angela Iarocci, Joell Angel-Chumbley and Kristine Matthews.
Dr. Yeohyun Ahn, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, consistently pushes for inclusivity and diversity in graphic design education through her work with “Social Homelessness on US Campuses” and “Design for Belonging.” In these initiatives, Prof. Ahn investigates academic marginality in the field. She presented her work on this topic in a traveling exhibition titled Evolving Graphic Design. This exhibition features design educators from across the United States and celebrates inclusivity in design practices. Additionally, Professor Ahn has led the University’s Department of Design Studies in developing new courses in experiential graphic design.
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SEGD Chapter Chair Award
Elizabeth Griswold, Allison Harris, Emma Wallace
Co-chairs of Raleigh Chapter (North Carolina, U.S.A.)
The SEGD Chapter Chair Award recognizes outstanding volunteer efforts while significantly contributing to the direction, growth, strength and excellence of SEGD both regionally and internationally. Past recipients include: the SEGD Riga Chapter, Cynthia Damar-Schnobb, Zach Kotel and Nick Kapica.
This year’s SEGD Chapter Award goes to the three co-chairs of the Raleigh Chapter: Elizabeth Griswold (Ewing Cole), Allison Harris (310 Architecture + Interiors), and Emma Wallace (Little), who continue to bring great ideas, energy, and enthusiasm to the SEGD community in North Carolina. They have been described by colleagues as “thoughtful and hilarious” and “always thinking of new ways to keep their design community connected.” This includes social media outreach and opportunities for continuing education, often collaborating with the NC State College of Design. “They inspire their peers and embody the qualities that make SEGD great!”
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The 2022 SEGD Class of Fellows
Michael Gericke, Julie Beeler, Brad Johnson, and Alan Jacobson
SEGD established the Fellow Award in 1987 and every year recognizes the profession’s laureates: those who are honored for creating a body of work and design leadership that epitomizes the highest standards of practice in the field of experiential and/or environmental graphic design.
SEGD is honored to announce the first class of 2022 Fellows: Julie Beeler, Michael Gericke, Alan Jacobson, and Brad Johnson; who will join the ranks of 44 SEGD Fellows, including Sylvia Harris, Ed Schlossberg, Paula Scher, Massimo Vignelli, Deborah Sussman, Lance Wyman and Denise Scott Brown to name a few.
In recommending this class of Fellows for confirmation, SEGD Fellow Committee Chair Michael Reed, FSEGD, stated that “these individuals’ accomplishments and contributions to the practice and advancement of experiential graphic design exemplify the highest ideas in uniquely different aspects of practice and leadership.” Michael concludes: “Today’s class of Fellows represent the breadth and depth of our growing community.”
Michael Gericke
Partner and Designer, Pentagram
Michael Gericke joined the New York office of Pentagram in 1985 and soon after became a partner in the firm. More than 35 years later, Michael has built a reputation for creating images and programs celebrating and portraying the essential qualities of the place or experience he is representing.
Michael studied graphic design at the University of Wisconsin, and after graduation, worked for seven years at Communication Arts in Boulder, Colorado. There, he produced projects combining graphics with three dimensional design. This first professional experience, working under the tutelage of Richard Foy and Henry Beer (“expats” of the office of Charles and Ray Eames), set the foundation for Michael’s future career.
Michael’s work at Pentagram covers a diverse range of projects and clients including the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Rockefeller Center and its Rainbow Room, MIT’s “One Laptop per Child,” 21st Century Fox, the National Gallery of Art, the Guggenheim Museum – Abu Dhabi, the Arizona Cardinals NFL Stadium, Cornell University’s Tech District, and Manhattan’s Ground Zero and One World Trade Center.
Chronicling this voluminous career is Graphic Life, a 520-page monograph written by Michael himself and published by Images Publishing. Featuring a preface by architect Moshe Safdie and an introduction by Pulitzer Prize winning architectural critic Paul Goldberger, the book presents Michael’s design work as a celebration of places, storytelling, and symbol making.
Michael has received hundreds of accolades including the American Institute of Architect’s Harry B. Rutkins award for his outstanding contributions to the design profession. Michael has also been honored with Fortune magazine’s Beacon Award for his creation of outstanding strategic design programs. Michael has served on the Executive Committee of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the Advisory Council of the Center for Architecture, and the Board of Directors of the Society of Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD).
Speaking in a recent interview, Michael describes the benefits of his involvement with SEGD. “It’s enriched me in so many different ways. It’s a community, it’s giving, it’s personal, it’s educational, and it’s incredibly inspirational,” says Michael.
View Michael’s video presentation here, view a heartwarming tribute to him by fellow Pentagram partner (and SEGD Fellow), Paula Scher, here.
Julie Beeler and Brad Johnson
Early adopters of interactive multimedia, graphic designer Julie Beeler and artist Brad Johnson started Second Story in Portland, OR, in 1997 with a passion for design and digital storytelling. Over the next 20 years they became leaders in an emerging field of design, seamlessly integrating digital into physical environments.
Julie Beeler started her career in San Francisco, working as a graphic designer at the Burdick Group (Bruce Burdick had worked with Charles and Ray Eames) and was a designer on the inaugural exhibition for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, OH). Brad Johnson was inspired by the Bay Area multimedia craze starting with interactive CDROMS. Ultimately they met in Berkeley in 1995, when Brad was independently working on projects including National Geographic websites.
In 1997, Julie and Brad moved to Portland to establish their own interactive media studio, Second Story, where they collaborated with exhibit designers, architects, and interior designers to manifest a new way of thinking about interaction and storytelling within physical spaces.
Second Story went on to become an internationally recognized and award winning interactive media studio producing memorable and innovative experiences. Some of their most recognized clients included the National Archives and the Library of Congress, the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (Atlanta, GA – SEGD Merit Award 2016), and experiences for the World of Coca-Cola and the University of Oregon.
Second Story has received numerous accolades and awards including being an honoree for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award along with recognitions from Time magazine, Sundance, SxSW, AIGA, Communication Arts, Core77, HOW, IxDA, Museums and the Web, Webby, TEA, the American Association of Museums, and PRINT.
Throughout their careers they built longstanding partnerships with exhibition and experience design firms in the SEGD community. They utilized their unique approach to storytelling through interactive media that made a dramatic impact on how people see, feel, and participate in stories across cultural institutions and with brands.
Second Story was acquired by Sapient in 2012. Brad and Julie transitioned out of the company in 2014, but their contributions and thought leadership continues to influence the next generation of experience designers today. The studio’s innovations in the field of interaction and
collaborative process created nimble teams. Team members from Second Story have gone on to start dozens of successful practices and work in a plethora of leading-edge companies that continue to shape the field of experiential design.
Alan Jacobson
Design Strategist/Founder, Exit Design, J2 Design
As a leader in the EGD community, Alan Jacobson is driven by the impact of design on quality of life. Alan is the founder and CEO of Exit Design and sister firm J2 (both based in Philadelphia), where experiential design and brand strategy inform Alan’s practice, but also serve as keystones in his own research and passion for design.
Alan describes his route to the field of EDG as “circuitous.” He began his journey as a teenager working in his father’s two-person Philadelphia sign shop. This experience gave young Alan an early foundation in signage. An interest in architecture and design, and an introduction to the work of Charles and Ray Eames, inspired Alan to enroll in the Philadelphia University of the Arts.
Beginning in college, and over the next 20 years, Alan rebranded the sign shop and grew it into an 80-person design/build EGD studio named AGS. This led to his founding of Exit Design in 2001 with collaborator Ellen Taylor, which eventually split from AGS. Exit focused on studying how people experience the built environment using an Experience Assessment strategy to evaluate challenges and enhance that experience.
Shortly after, Alan’s son Brian, a graphic designer, suggested that he and Alan might make a perfect creative duo. Their partnership, J2, was born as a brand strategy and visual identity firm. These two studios, Exit and J2, often collaborate on projects in education, social impact, healthcare, arts and culture, and in mixed-use and public spaces. Major projects include the University of Pennsylvania, Kimmel Cultural Center, Philadelphia Mural Arts, Union Square San Francisco, and the Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge Shared Path.
Alan has also built a reputation for giving back. Partnering with artist and activist Lily Yeh, he worked in a Rwandan village to help rebuild the spirits of genocide survivors. Using collaborative art projects and environmental design, they created public spaces to bring residents together under a common cause. Since 2005, Alan has built on Lily’s legacy at The Village of Arts and Humanities in Philadelphia to lead the next generation of creatives.
Joining SEGD in 1999, Alan has volunteered his time to support SEGD and help it grow into the international organization it is today. He has served on committees and the SEGD Board, chaired the 2004 SEGD Conference, and cofounded SEGD’s Philadelphia Chapter.
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Thank you to DCL for being a long time sponsor of the SEGD Achievement Awards