Ken Carbone

Ken Carbone is a designer, artist, musician, author, and teacher. He says he can't spell, can't type, and only learned to swim after he turned 50. He’s never won an Oscar, never watched the Simpsons, and secretly loves opera.

He is the co-founder and Chief Creative Director of the Carbone Smolan Agency in New York City. The Agency’s client list includes W Hotels, Morgan Stanley, Taubman Centers, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Canon, Christie’s, Carnegie Textiles, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Ken Burns Foundation, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Corbis Images, Architectural Record magazine, and renowned institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, and the Musée du Louvre.

In addition to his role as creative director, Ken Carbone is the author of The Virtuoso: Face to Face with 40 Extraordinary Talents. The book’s emphasis on human achievement in all walks of life reflects Carbone’s wide-ranging curiosity that has inspired his own endeavors. His new book, co-authored with Leslie Smolan and titled "Dialog": What Makes a Great Design Partnership., is scheduled for publication in October 2012.

He frequently speaks about design and visual communication at events sponsored by Inc. magazine, Metropolis magazine, American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Luxury Marketing Council, and the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers. He has lectured at top business schools and art institutions, and is a professor in the MFA program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Currently, he is a featured design blogger for Fast Company magazine.

His work has been recognized for design excellence and published internationally for over 35 years. However, he says he would give it all up to play guitar for Tina Turner.