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.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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