AIGA, the professional association for design, honored two Pittsburgh graphic design legends -- Rick Landesberg and Dennis Moran -- last week with 2010 AIGA Fellow Awards.
The AIGA Fellow Award recognizes "mature designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellent in practice and conduct within the design community," says AIGA Pittsburgh president Greg Gibilisco.
The celebration, attended by about 150 people in Pittsburgh's design community, was held at the new August Wilson Center for African American Culture.
The event featured remarks from incoming AIGA Pittsburgh present Andrew Twigg, and a conversation between Landesberg and Moran moderated by Pittsburgh advertising legend Ray Werner. The conversation focused on the designers' beginnings in the business, the turning points along the way and advice they have for up-and-coming designers (Moran spoke of importance of integrity, and Landesberg's advice includes: Hire creative people, don't work for jerks and always replace your X-Acto knife blade).
Rick Landesberg, an AIGA member since 1980, was a founding board member of the Pittsburgh chapter. He is a graduate of University of the Arts in Philadelphia and founded Landesberg Design in 1982. Over the past 28 years, Rick has supported and encouraged employee AIGA membership and active chapter participation. Six current and past Landesberg employees have served on the AIGA Pittsburgh board of directors. Also an influential design educator, Rick taught at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design from 1985 to 2000, and returned to the position this Spring.
Dennis Moran has been a design practitioner for nearly 40 years. He was a founding principal and creative director of Adam, Filippo & Moran Inc. from 1979 to 1988. In 1988 he founded Dennis Moran Design. Dennis has been an AIGA member since 1985 and served as the founding president of the Pittsburgh chapter. In addition to his practice, Dennis has educated countless designers through teaching appointments at Carnegie Mellon University (his alma mater), Robert Morris University and West Virginia University.
National honors at AIGA's Legends Gala in Los Angeles will take place this fall.
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Writer: Caralyn Green
Sources: Rick Landesberg, Dennis Moran
Photographs courtesy of AIGA Pittsburgh