Morton Goldsholl Associates (Goldsholl Associates, Goldsholl Design & Film Associates) was one of Chicago’s leading graphic design studios in the 1950s through 1970s. The studio became recognized for their animated films, progressive hiring practices and developing corporate branding packages for various companies.
In 1955, Morton (Mort) and
Millie Goldsholl established Goldsholl Design & Film Associates. Mort became titular head with responsibility for the design division, while Millie took charge of building a film division. By 1963, the company had grown to about 30 employees. Due to staff growth and an interest in expanding the film division, the Goldsholls built a spare office building on a frontage road in
Northfield, Illinois
Northfield is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located approximately north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the village's population was 5,751. It is part of a collection of upscale reside ...
, filling it with a stage as well as sound and editing suites for film production to take place alongside the designers.
While at Goldsholl Design & Film Associates, Mort created iconic logos and packaging for
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
,
Vienna Beef,
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
,
Alcoa and
Brach's Candy, just to name a few. When he was asked what he liked most about his company, Mort Goldsholl said, “I enjoy my work immensely, but seldom the results. The playtime in design is the most joyful experience––the wasted moments in scribbles, dribbles and scratches that formulate vague thoughts into ideas and dreams into action. I don’t know how or why this is so. The problem is to get the final design to match the fleeting idea. The big dreams about the great work of art can too easily be dissipated in the practicalities of solutions, clients, markets, statistics, sales, function and committee decisions."
Former employees of Goldsholl Design & Film Associates include: DeWitt Beall, David Blumenthal,
Wayne Boyer, Tom Freese
Larry Janiak William Langdon, Byron Grush, Paul Jessel, James Logan, Susan Keig,
Thomas Miller, Fred Ota, John Weber and John Siena.
The Goldsholls worked together for 40 years until the company closed down in the 1990s. Mort died in 1995, and Millie died on May 23, 2012.
Since 2006, the majority of the films created by Morton Goldsholl Associates have been in the care of
Chicago Film Archives (CFA). CFA'
Mort & Millie Goldsholl Collectioncontains approximately 129 films made by the firm.
University of Illinois at Chicago Special Collections has 22 linear feet of archival print materials in their Morton Goldsholl Collection.
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References
{{Reflist
Advertising agencies of the United States
Companies based in Chicago
1955 establishments in Illinois
Marketing companies established in 1955