Stephen Doyle & Gael Towey | 2008 Gain Conference

Stephen Doyle & Gael Towey

This charismatic husband-and-wife team banters about designing for Martha Stewart in this lively presentation that reflects their great working relationship and quick wits. Steven Doyle discusses his work redesigning the logo and creating identities for the Martha Stewart family of brands, while Gael Towey discusses the company’s values from an in-house perspective: on making emotional connections with audiences; how design is intrinsic to both the creation and the execution of their publications; and the style and lead creative forces behind the brands.

Stephen Doyle is the creative director at Doyle Partners, a design studio specializing in identity, packaging, signage, environment and editorial design. Doyle’s unique ability to give words a deeper meaning in graphic form results in an intelligent, provocative body of work for clients including The New York Times, AIGA, Vanity Fair magazine and publisher Alfred A. Knopf. Doyle previously served as art director at M&Co. and as associate art director at Rolling Stone and Esquire magazines. Doyle has lectured at Yale University, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the School of Visual Arts and New York University.

As chief creative officer for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) since 2005, Gael Towey oversees the company’s design and creative teams, ensuring that the company’s unique visual style is realized across all media and merchandising business segments. Towey began working at Martha Stewart Living in 1990 as founding art director. She designed the inaugural issue of the magazine, establishing its distinct, iconic visual style. Over the years, the breadth of Towey’s creative direction has expanded with the rapid growth of MSLO. She has played a key role in developing the design for all of the company’s magazines and merchandising programs, including the Martha Stewart Collection of home products exclusively for Macy’s, the mass market Martha Stewart Everyday product line at Kmart, the Martha Stewart Crafts line at Michaels and the award-winning Martha Stewart Furniture line with Bernhardt. Under Towey’s creative direction, MSLO has won awards in many categories, including an AIGA Corporate Leadership Award, five American Society of Magazine Editors awards, the Art Director’s Club Vision Award, Chrysler Design Award and numerous others. Previously, Towey was the design director for House and Garden magazine and was the first art director for Clarkson N. Potter Publishers.

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