Ricardo "Rick" Griffith (born 1969).[1] is a self-taught graphic designer[2][3], art director[4], master letterpress[5] printmaker, writer, curator, educator, lecturer and activist. He owns and operates MATTER,[6][7] a design studio, typography laboratory and design bookstore, and founded the Black Astronaut Research Project (BLARP.org)[8][9][10] Griffith and his partners create and disseminate graphics geared towards dismantling white supremacy and racism[11] in the interest of reparative justice.[12][13]
Rick Griffith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1969 |
| Occupation | Graphic Designer |
Early Life and Education
Griffith was born the UK, raised in Southeast London, and educated at Colfe’s College, Sidcup, United Kingdom. He immigrated to the United States in the late ‘80s,[8] where he finished his schooling in Washington D.C.
Career
Griffith began work in Washington D.C. area record stores, which moved Griffith on to graphic design.[citation needed] A freelance career on Madison Avenue funded his first practice, RGD (Rick Griffith Design), and he founded MATTER in Denver, Colorado, which, over the last two decades, has grown into a design consultancy, print shop, workshop[14] and Denver's only black-owned[15][16] retail bookstore.[17][18][19][20]
In December 2020, Griffith was named PRINT Magazine's first artist-in-residence,[21] where he now writes a weekly column, Processing.[22][23]
Griffith has lectured at University of Louisville Hite Art Institute, University of Southern California Roski School of Design, Montana State University, South Dakota State University, University of Texas, Austin, University of Minnesota, Duluth, and the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum.[citation needed] He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, University of Colorado, Denver, and has been a visiting artist at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.[citation needed]
Griffith has curated major design exhibits for the Denver Art Museum, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and at AIGA New York.
Achievements
Griffith's work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver,[24] the Denver Art Museum,[25] the Butler Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Columbia University, the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, the Western New York Book Art Collaborative] (WNYBAC); and Columbia College's Center for the Book in Chicago.[citation needed]
Griffith was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the Art Institute of Chicago; received the Denver One Club Award in 2017 and 2018; the Type Director's Club award in 2004, was included in HOW Magazine's International Posters edition in 2004, and received Print Magazine regional awards in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009; was included in AIGA's 50 Books/50 Covers in 2004[26]; and the Belmar Award for Achievement in Art and Design in 2004.
Griffith has been a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts since 1994 and served as president of the Colorado Chapter from 1995 to 1998,[27] continuing to serve on their advisory board through 2006. He served on the Denver City and County Cultural Commission from 2012 to 2016,[28] and on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Contemporary Art at the Denver Art Museum. He was inducted into the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in 2001 and presently serves as the Services Nominating Chair.[citation needed]
In 2021, Griffith chaired the national AIGA Design Conference, and will chair it again in 2022.[citation needed]
Essays, Articles, Books & Monographs
- Processing, a weekly column for PRINT Magazine[citation needed]
- Seeking New Suprematist Forms Through Typography (2003)[citation needed]
- Thirty Words (2003-2004)[citation needed]
- Augmented Signs (2001)[citation needed]
External Links
- MATTER design studio, typography laboratory and design bookstore
References
- ^ "Rick Griffith". tedxboulder.com.
- ^ Sherin, Aaris (2017). Introduction to Graphic Design A Guide to Thinking, Process & Style. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 9781350056046.
- ^ Carter, David E. (2000). The Big Book of Design Ideas. HBI. ISBN 9780688179861.
- ^ Blackcoffee Design Inc (2006). The Best of Business Card Design 6. pp. 57, 58, 59, 119, 132, 140, 141, 143, 184, 185, 192. ISBN 9781610601634.
- ^ Ebert, Grace (September 17, 2020). "Field Notes Launches New Collection of Letterpress Notebooks Designed by Nine Printers Across the U.S." COLOSSAL.
- ^ Cezzar, Juliette (2018). The AIGA Guide to Careers in Graphic and Communication Design. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 222, 147, 4, 7, 80, 79, 170, 78, 183, 221, 184. ISBN 9781501323676.
- ^ "MATTER – Denver's only design studio, manufactory, and design (book) shop".
- ^ a b https://morematter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/RG-Bio-and-CV.pdf
- ^ "Other Worlds Film Festival announces lineup". November 18, 2020.
- ^ Froyd, Susan (December 8, 2017). "Rick Griffith's Sci-Fi Fantasy: A Post-Racial World". Westword.
- ^ Berry, Walters, Collie, Acayo Laker, Rittner, Noel (2022). The Black Experience in Design Identity, Expression and Reflection. ISBN 9781621537861.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Connellan, Shannon. "12 free and printable Black Lives Matter posters from Black artists". Mashable.
- ^ "Art for Change: 12 Black Designers Created Black Lives Matter Protest Posters".
- ^ "Lampoon Magazine | MATTER, Denver".
- ^ "Shop at MATTER Is Colorado's Only Black-Owned Bookstore". 5280. September 22, 2020.
- ^ "New Tattered Cover owners defend claims of Black ownership amid national outcry". The Know. December 18, 2020.
- ^ Warner, Joel (January 4, 2011). "Rick Griffith has designs on Denver. Bold ones". Westword.
- ^ "Looking for something to read? Here are eight independent bookstores in Denver to support". The Know. July 31, 2020.
- ^ "Demand for anti-racist literature is up. These black bookstore owners hope it lasts". Washington Post.
- ^ "Black-owned bookstores work to keep up with high demand on Black history, anti-racism books". KMGH. July 15, 2020.
- ^ Petit, Zachary (December 23, 2020). "Last-Minute Gifts for Designers: Rick Griffith's Words to Design (and Live) By". www.printmag.com.
- ^ Griffith, Rick (December 9, 2020). "Rick Griffith: A Love Letter to Design, a List of Demands, and a Stern Look". www.printmag.com.
- ^ Petit, Zachary (December 16, 2020). "Rick Griffith: The Art and Craft of the Second-Guess". www.printmag.com.
- ^ "Colorado in the Present Tense". February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Rick Griffith: Genius MATTERs". July 23, 2012.
- ^ https://designarchives.aiga.org/#/entries/Rick%20Griffith/_/detail/relevance/asc/0/7/2530/seeking-new-suprematist-forms-through-typography/1 50 Books/50 Covers
- ^ "Past Leadership | AIGA Colorado".
- ^ Venues, Denver Arts &. "Denver County Cultural Council | Denver Arts & Venues". www.artsandvenuesdenver.com.