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
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who’s who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you’ll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
“From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor’s tattooed arms where the numbers just don’t add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry.” — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America’s first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
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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