2006 Medalists announced

March 1, 2006: The highest honor in the field of graphic design, the AIGA Medal, will be awarded to three designers for their exceptional achievements in graphic design and visual communication. Michael Bierut, Pentagram, New York City, Rick Valicenti, 3st, Chicago, and Lorraine Wild, Green Dragon Office, Los Angeles, will be officially presented with their Medals at the Design Legends Gala, October 25, 2006 in New York City.

The highest honor in the field of graphic design, the AIGA Medal, will be awarded to three designers for their exceptional achievements in graphic design and visual communication. Michael Bierut, Pentagram, New York City, Rick Valicenti, 3st, Chicago, and Lorraine Wild, Green Dragon Office, Los Angeles, will be officially presented with their Medals at the Design Legends Gala, October 25, 2006 in New York City.

AIGA Medals have been awarded since 1920 to individuals who have set standards of excellence over a lifetime of work or have made individual contributions to innovation within the practice of design. The contribution may be in the practice of graphic design, teaching, writing or leadership of the profession. Individuals who are honored may work in any country, but the contribution for which they are honored should have had a significant impact on the practice of graphic design in the United States. More than 130 Medals have been awarded to designers like Tibor Kalman, Paul Rand and Charles and Ray Eames.

This year, in addition to their contributions to design, all three Medalists are accomplished design writers and critics; collectively, their writing has been featured in hundreds of design magazines, journals, books and blogs. Bierut and Wild are founder and contributor, respectively, of the design blog Design Observer. Bierut has edited dozens of books on design criticism, namely the Looking Closer and ReThinking Design series, to which Wild has also contributed. In 2005, Valicenti published a thick monograph, Emotion as Promotion: A Book of Thirst, a manifesto about contemporary design.

Each Medalist is also closely involved with design education, Bierut as a senior graphic design critic at the Yale School of Art, Valicenti at both Cranbrook and Cal Arts and at the high school level, and Wild as the former chair of graphic design and current faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts.

The three Medalists are also connected in other ways: Bierut and Wild both worked for Vignelli Associates, Valicenti and Bierut are members of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, and Wild and Valicenti collaborate in the collective WildLuV.

Michael Bierut is recognized for his thoughtful leadership, dedication to the profession, and inspired advocacy of the power and influence of design. Currently a partner at Pentagram, Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Before joining Pentagram, he was vice president of design at the legendary New York firm Vignelli Associates. He has edited dozens of books, journals and articles, and won hundreds of awards for his work for clients like Walt Disney Co., Motorola, the New York Jets, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bierut's pieces can be seen at numerous museums including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York. Bierut is frequently interviewed by magazines and newspapers about his views on the state of design and its effect on culture.

Rick Valicenti is recognized for the passion and intelligence of his influential work, his inspiration to his colleagues, and his mentorship to a generation of students. After working for The Design Partnership in Chicago, he founded R. Valicenti Design in 1981. In 1987, he founded Thirst, a firm that would challenge the role of the design studio by transforming design into what Valicenti calls Art With Function. The playful, powerful style of Thirst has been embraced by clients like Gilbert Paper, Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes, Wired, and Absolut. His self-initiated projects defy categorization; his observations on the world around him often appearing as doodling and illustrations, sometimes film, video and photography. Valicenti's work is included in the permanent collection of The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. He is a celebrated typographer, and established the typeface design foundry Thirstype, as well as the strategic digital media company, 3st2.

Lorraine Wild is recognized for her work as an influential and inspiring designer, writer, historian, and teacher of design. Wild received her bachelor’s degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art and her master’s degree from Yale University. After working at Vignelli Associates, she relocated to Los Angeles where she was named chair of the graphic design program at Cal Arts and became one of the country's most informed design historians. She also founded the influential firm ReVerb, collaborating with architects, museums and artists, but Wild is best known for designing hundreds of books. Her recent book Looking at Los Angeles, on which she collaborated with the actor Ben Stiller, populated many best-of-2005 lists. Her work has been featured in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial and an solo exhibition at SFMOMA.

On October 25, 2006, the Design Legends Gala, a glamorous black-tie affair, will honor the Medalists as well as the winners of the Corporate Leadership Award, bestowed upon companies dedicated to producing great design.

Design Legends Gala
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Chelsea Piers
New York City

See a complete list of past recipients, including bios and galleries for many Medalists.

Michael Bierut, Pentagram, New York City
Rick Valicenti, 3st, Chicago
Lorraine Wild, Green Dragon Office, Los Angeles