Span is a Chicago, Illinois-based multidisciplinary studio specializing in identity design, branding, exhibition design, environmental graphics, motion graphics, interactive design, and publications. It was founded in 2020 by Bud Rodecker and John Pobojewski who both worked at the design studio Thirst with
Rick Valicenti
Rick Valicenti (born November 20, 1951) is an American graphic designer based in Chicago.
Early life and education
Rick Valicenti was born in 1951 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1973, and later ...
. In 2023, Nick Adam became Associate Partner.
Notable projects
In 2024 Span led the rebranding of one of Chicago's oldest institutions, the
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. The studio used the prairie as a key design inspiration
The rebrand of the invasive species of carps—which were widely referred to as
Asian carp—as Copi, along with the tagline “Eat Well. Do Good.” The Copi renaming is a part of a Federal and state initiative to get the public to eat the invasive fish, decrease its numbers in Midwestern waterways, and prevent its introduction to the Great Lakes.
["From ‘carp’ to ‘copi’: unpopular fish getting a makeover"](_blank)
''apnews.com'', June 22, 2022.]
The identity and brand identity system for Chicago's
Regional Transportation Authority (Illinois).
The short 3D animation/motion graphics films called Urban Sequoia -- about buildings that absorb carbon--which premiered at the UN Climate Change Conferences in 2021 and 2022.
The exhibition graphics for Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
The rebrand of and brand identity for New York state’s Nazareth University.
Awards
* Anthem Awards for Sustainability, Environment & Climate, 2023.
* AIGA 365, 2022.
* Society of Typographic Arts, STA 100, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.
STA 100 site
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Identities designed
File:Logo for Copi the new name for Asian carp.svg, Logo for Copi the new name for Asian carp
File:StateFairCopi.jpg, The Copi food truck at the 2023 Illinois State Fair in Springfield Illinois
File:RTA-Logo-Dark-RGB.png, Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority logo
File:Nazareth-university-logo primary RGB-purple.png, Identity for Nazareth University, rebranded as NAZ
Further reading
The Definitive Ranking of 2023s Best and Worst Branding, December, 2023, Fast Co DesignTo Hook American Diners an Invasive Species of Carp Gets a New Name, The Economist, June, 2022Save the Planet by Eating this Big Ugly Fish, March, 2023Merriam Webster Dictionary Copi DefinitionAsian carp rebranded as Copi to tackle US environmental crisis Design Week, December, 2022Span Designs Two Exhibitions in Celebration of Trees, Design Week, May, 2023Illinois Department of Natural Resources official launch with John Goss, Brian Jupiter and SpanCooperHewitt.org Behind the Book DesignHow Good Design Promotes Good Health, Smithsonian Magazine, February, 2022
References
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Graphic design studios
Industrial design firms
Design companies of the United States
American companies established in 2020