Co-Founder of Strategic Brand Design Company Wink to Give Talk April 3 as Stevenson’s Visual Communication Design Artist-in-Residence

Stevenson University’s Visual Communication Design program is hosting Scott Thares, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Minneapolis-based design firm, Wink, as its 2014 Spring Artist-in-Residence. Thares will give a talk on “graphic wit” — the art of incorporating humor into design — Thursday, April 3, at 6 p.m. at Stevenson’s Rockland Banquet Hall, located on the University’s Owings Mills Campus, 100 Campus Circle, Owings Mills, MD 21117. The lecture will be preceded by a reception at 5 p.m. Both are free and the public is invited to attend.

“The name of the company he co-founded, Wink, really says it all,” said Amanda Hostalka, Chair of Art/Visual Communication Design. “Scott Thares brings to his work good humor and the element of surprise, or a ‘wink and a nod.’ He has the ability to engage audiences intellectually and creatively with a good joke, a puzzle, pun, or ironic juxtaposition. His talk will remind all of us of the value of a smile.”

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to design strategy, Wink aspires to make an impact on commerce as well as culture. The firm was named as one of the Style and Design 100 by Time magazine for its work with clients such as Target, Nike, MTV, Express, American Eagle Outfitters, Turner Classic Movies, JCPenney’s, and The New York Times. Wink’s work is included in the permanent collection of The Chicago Athenaeum Museum, the Library of Congress, and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, and has received national and international recognition for excellence by nearly every major design publication and award show in the world.

In addition to his talk, Thares will also be leading a design workshop with Stevenson students, April 3-5.

For more information on the Artist-in-Residence event or Stevenson’s Visual Communication Design program, contact Hostalka at ahostalka@stevenson.edu.