Design + The City Exhibition

Graphic Design is part of our city’s DNA-it’s woven into the fabric of the landscape, surrounding us every day in countless forms. From buses and murals to branding and museum exhibitions, design sends a message, and artists are the storytellers. Their experiences inform the narrative and on a large scale, global design expressions.

Created by ten artists, produced and curated by Kit Hinrichs and the Center for Architecture + Design, DESIGN + THE CITY explores San Francisco’s unique visual identity through the eyes of its most influential designers: Craig Frazier, John Hersey, Kit Hinrichs, Michael Mabry, John Mattos, Jennifer Morla, Jason Schulte, Michael Vanderbyl, and Maurice Woods, and several others.

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Artists

Michael Vanderby

Michael Vanderbyl has achieved international prominence as a design practitioner, educator and advocate. In 1973, he established Vanderbyl Design, working across the spectrum of print, digital, interiors and product design. In 1987, he was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI); in 2000, he received the AIGA Medal and in 2012, was inducted into Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame. Michael received the Lifetime Achievement Titan Award from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) in 2014. As an educator, Michael acted as Dean of the School of Design at California College of the Arts (CCA), as well as teaching for over thirty years. Michael continues to practice, working with many of his long-standing clients as well as new clients in the luxury furniture, real estate, and wine industries.

Michael Schwab

From his studio in Marin County, Michael Schwab has established a reputation as one of America’s most recognized and best loved graphic artists. Originally from Oklahoma, Michael attended school in Texas and New York before graduating from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. Michael has a broad array of visual, cultural and geographic references to which he regularly turns for ideas – most often from the American West. He has created award-winning logos and posters for a remarkable list of prestigious clients, including Apple, Levi’s, the National Park Service, Major League Baseball, Polo Ralph Lauren, Robert Redford and the San Francisco Opera. His work is striking in its simplicity.

Michael Mabry

Michael Mabry, graphic designer/illustrator was born in Michigan and raised in a suburb 30 miles south of downtown Chicago, Illinois. During the final semester of his senior year in high school, fulfilling a compulsory credit in art to graduate, he became aware of the power and the joy of creating. This initiated his lifelong journey to discover a career in the Arts. He headed west first to study at Iowa State University, then at the University of Utah to earn a Bachelor of Arts in 1978. Finally moving to San Francisco where he had the extreme good fortune to work for Nicholas Sidjakov and Jerry Berman. Sidjakov’s mastery of illustration and typography and Berman’s conceptual acumen left an indelible impression on Mabry’s approach to his craft. With a modest loan from his soon to be bride he began his design business in 1981 with a lot of bright-eyed ambition, Midwestern temperament, and limitless energy. His approach of blending design and illustration has evolved over the years although his goal of touching the viewer with a bit of humanistic charm has remained a constant. In 2014 he closed the business of 33 years to pursue personal interests. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, SFMOMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Center for Political Graphics.

Maurice Woods

Maurice Woods, a graduate of the University of Washington with a BFA and MFA in Visual Communication Design, has made significant strides in the design industry, transitioning from a professional basketball career to prominent roles at Pentagram Design, Yahoo!, and currently, Microsoft. With over 25 years of experience, he has earned accolades such as the AIGA SF Design Fellow Award and the Jefferson Award for Public Service. As the Executive Director and Founder of the globally recognized nonprofit Inneract Project, Maurice has dedicated two decades to empowering Black, Latinx, and other underrepresented communities through free design education. The organization offers a comprehensive curriculum that supports these communities from middle school to early career stages. In addition to his nonprofit work, Maurice teaches design courses, lectures internationally, and contributes to media like the Wall Street Journal and Fast Company. His contributions are also featured in the international film “Design Disruptors” and the Netflix documentary “Bad Sport.”

John Mattos

John Mattos, an artist residing on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, lives just half a block west of the iconic Coit Tower. His hillside home offers sweeping views of landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, which have profoundly influenced his work. John’s notable contributions include the artwork for the “Preserve Coit Tower” initiative and the 75th-anniversary poster for the Golden Gate Bridge. His creative talents extend to the “Save the Rock” campaign for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. John has garnered Gold and Silver Medals from prestigious institutions like The New York Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles Society of Illustrators, and the San Francisco Society of Illustrators. John has shared his expertise at renowned institutions including ArtCenter College of Design,Harvard University, Stanford, Wellesley, McGill University, and various University of California campuses.

Craig Frazier

Craig Frazier has been an illustrating designer since 1978. His work is recognized internationally for its wit, surprise and simplicity. He is a frequent contributor to the NY Times and publications like Time Magazine, Fortune, Bloomberg Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and The Wall Street Journal to name a few. Amongst his corporate clients are Adobe, American Express, Boeing, Chevrolet, Deloitte, MasterCard, Mohawk Paper, Navigant, The Royal Mail, U.S. Postal Service, and United Airlines. Craig has created eight postage stamps including the 2006 Love stamp and the 2010/11 commemorative Scouting stamps. Craig published his second monograph titled Drawn, (Goff Books) in January of 2024. Craig has published a 176-page monograph titled The Illustrated Voice, (Graphis Press, 2003.) He is also the author and illustrator of ten children’s books.

Kit Hinrichs

Kit Hinrichs served as principal in several design offices in New York and San Francisco and spent 23 years as a partner of Pentagram before opening Studio Hinrichs in 2009. His design experience incorporates a wide range of projects, including brand development, promotion, packaging, environmental graphics, editorial and exhibition design. Kit’s work is included in the permanent collections of the MoMA New York, SFMoMA, the Denver Museum of Art, LACMA and Letterform Archive. He has co-authored five books, including Narrative Design, Typewise, Long May She Wave, and The Pentagram Papers. He cofounded @issue: The Journal of Business and Design. His work includes branding for the California Academy of Science, CA+D, the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and Giants Enterprises. He is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and an AIGA medalist. Since opening Morla Design in 1984,

Jennifer Morla

Jennifer Morla has paired wit and elegance on everything from motion graphics and branding to retail environments and textiles. She is the recipient of graphic design's most honored awards: The Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and The AIGA Medal. Morla’s work is included in numerous museum collections including MoMA, SFMoMA, LACMA and The Smithsonian. She lectures and judges internationally and taught at California College of the Arts for over 20 years. Morla:Design, published by Letterform Archive, offers insight into her creative process and features 150 of her studio’s projects.

John Hersey

John Hersey, originally from Vancouver Canada, attended Art Center College of Design before moving to San Francisco in 1981. The personal computer revolution was just beginning and he quickly became one of the pioneers of digital illustration. John made the second commissioned digital illustration ever created in 1983 using a Macintosh Computer and MacPaint. Over the years he has worked with some of the most iconic retail technology brands and media companies in the world and continues to do so now. His work has been in many exhibitions and publications around the world. In 2006, John had career retrospective exhibition in Tokyo featuring over 60 pieces The SFMOMA, LACMA, and the Museo Fortuny in Venice have his work in their collections. Currently, John lives in Fairfax, CA.

Jason Schulte

Jason Schulte is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of Office, a design company in San Francisco, that transforms brands and designs experiences to make things better. Author Dave Eggers once described Office as “the greatest geniuses in the history of mankind.” First Lady Michelle Obama awarded Office the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, recognizing excellence, innovation and lasting achievement in design. Office’s clients have included Google, Coca-Cola, Target, Disney, Meta, Nike, IBM, P&G and Whole Foods. The studio gets just as excited about its annual pro bono projects, including branding La Cocina, Gardens of Golden Gate Park and 826 Valencia’s Pirate Supply Store. Jason is also a co-founder of Wee Society, a kids’ brand that aims to help parents raise good little people by teaching kindness, sparking imaginations, and encouraging creativity. Jason grew up in Green Mountain, Iowa (where there’s no actual mountain), and graduated from Iowa State University. Today, Jason lives in the foggy part of the City with his wife (and Office President) Jill Robertson, their twin boys, and dog Ollie.