Chewie's Designer Investigation

Adrian D. Smith

Adrian Smith is an American architect who has designed skyscrapers including the Burj Khalifa, Jin Mao Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower. Smith attended Texas A&M University, pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture while being involved with the Corp of Cadets. He did not graduate, however, and instead left A&M to work at SOM in 1967. He finished his education at the University of Illinois - Chicago and graduated in 1969.

 Adrian Smith was a Design Partner in the Chicago office of  Skidmore, Owings & Merrill from 1980 to 2003 and a Consulting Design Partner from 2004 to 2006. Adrian also served as the SOM’s Chief Executive Officer (1993 to 1995). He was the Chairman for the SOM Foundation (1990 to 1995) which serves to recognize and nurture students in architecture, design, urban design and structural engineering. After nearly four decades with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1967–2006), Smith left and with Gordon Gill and Robert Forest to found their own firm, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG). AS+GG has declared that it will focus on design of high-performance, energy-efficient and sustainable architecture on an international scale.  His most recent work ,that he is acknowledged for in a group effort, is the Burj Khalifa.  

The Burj Khalifa is currently the worlds tallest building at 2,717 feet tall.  Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the new 490-acre flagship development called Downtown Dubai at the First Interchange along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district. Source Cited <http://smithgill.com/>

Joe Oros

You can thank Joe Oros, the father for the original Mustang design. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1917 and his parents were both non-English speaking Romanians. He showed incredible artistic skill in elementary, so much so he was moved from 3rd to 5th grade even though his math and science skills were questionable. Joe was Ford Motor Company's lead designer for over a 21 year period. Oros first worked for GM in the 1930s and early 1940s, then joined the independent George Walker group that shaped the vital all-new 1949 Ford and the cars and trucks that built on its success. When Walker became Ford's in-house design vice president in 1955, he made Oros an assistant, then named him to head the Ford Studio in 1956. 

Though Oros would supervise the design of almost every U.S. Ford-brand vehicle over the next dozen years, the Mustang was his biggest success as studio chief. Oros is now 93 and lives in Santa Barbara, California where he lived with his wife Betty Thatcher Oros, until she died in 2001. His house is full of his own artwork, including paintings and sculptures. Oros is currently working on a 3D model of the earth depicting, all the original settlers. He is about 1/4 of his way through it and hopes to finish before he dies. Source Cited <http://blogs.mustangmonthly.com/6658995/miscellaneous/joseph-oros-weaved-the-mustangs-magic/index.html>

Neville Brody

Neville Brody was born in Southgate, London on 23 April 1957. At school, he studied A-Level Art, very much from a fine art viewpoint. In 1975 Brody went on to do a Fine Art foundation course at Hornsey College of Art, once renowned for its late sixties agitation, now part of Middlesex University.

In autumn 1976, Brody started a three-year B.A. course in graphics at the London College of Printing. His tutors often condemned his work as "Uncommercial", often putting a heavy emphasis on safe and tested economic strategies, as opposed to experimentation.

By 1977 punk rock was beginning to have a major effect upon London life and, while this had a great impact upon Brody's work and motivation, was not well received by his tutors. At one point he was almost thrown out of the college for putting the Queen's head sideways on a postage stamp design. He did, however, get the chance to design posters for student concerts at the college, most notably for Pere Ubu, supported by The Human League. 

Neville Brody continues to work as a graphic designer and together with business partner Fwa Richards launched his own design practice, Research Studios, in London in 1994. Since then studios have been opened in San Francisco, Paris, Berlin and New York. The company is best known for its ability to create new visual languages for a variety of applications ranging from publishing to film. It also creates innovative packaging and website design for clients such as Kenzo, corporate identity for clients such as Homechoice, and on-screen graphics for clients such as Paramount Studios, makers of the Mission Impossible films.

Neville Brody is a world renowned designer, typographer, and art director and brand strategist and in addition to lecturing and contributing to a variety of cultural and educational initiatives, he works alone or with a group, regardless he's still an inspiration to the design world.  Source Cited <http://www.archive.researchstudios.com/home/006-neville-brody/NEVILLE_home.php>