Michael Vanderbyl

AIGA FELLOW: NAMED BY AIGA SAN FRANCISCO, 2007

Michael Vanderbyl has gained international prominence in the design field as a practitioner, educator, critic and advocate. Since being established in San Francisco in 1973, his firm— Vanderbyl Design—has evolved into a multidisciplinary studio with expertise in identity, print and digital communications, interiors, showrooms, retail spaces, signage, textiles, fashion apparel, packaging, furniture and product design. Printed work by Vanderbyl has gained recognition in every major design competition in the United States and Europe; his work is part of the permanent collections of several museums and is featured in national and international publications. Vanderbyl’s showroom and product designs have also earned numerous awards and distinctions.

In 1987 Vanderbyl was elected a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI), an international graphic design organization based in Zurich. He has served three terms on the national board of directors of AIGA and served as president for the 2003–2005 term. Vanderbyl holds a position on the Design Advisory Board of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as well as on the museum’s Architecture and Design Accessions Committee. He was awarded the AIGA Medal in 2000 and currently presides as dean of design at the California College of the Arts.