MA! Atlanta Design Week—
Designing a design economy
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Challenge:
When you think of the design hubs in the United States, it’s rare that the city of Atlanta would enter the conversation.
Until now.
In 2007, a team led by Bernard McCoy and Elayne DeLeo decided to change the cities’ perception with the design community and needed help. The brief was to develop a distinctive identity for the city to not only celebrate the growing community but also attract tech companies to the city to recruit its talent.
When you think of the design hubs in the United States, it’s rare that the city of Atlanta would enter the conversation.
Until now.
In 2007, a team led by Bernard McCoy and Elayne DeLeo decided to change the cities’ perception with the design community and needed help. The brief was to develop a distinctive identity for the city to not only celebrate the growing community but also attract tech companies to the city to recruit its talent.
Founder Bernard McCoy
Annual publication that chronicles the city’s creative economy
Solution:
SoWhat’s fixed yet flexible approach was used to not only create a differentiated visual identity but also a voice that represented where the city’s design community was going.
It worked.
Over the past five years, Atlanta has seen 15% growth in tech jobs, comparable with other notable tech cities — 16% for the San Francisco Bay Area and 10% for Austin, Texas, according to CBRE.
Apple, Google and Microsoft have now heavily invested in the city with regional headquarters taking prominent roles in the city’s ecosystem and more than a dozen companies started or based in Atlanta have grown to valuations over the past decade above $1 billion, the threshold for so-called unicorn status.
SoWhat’s fixed yet flexible approach was used to not only create a differentiated visual identity but also a voice that represented where the city’s design community was going.
It worked.
Over the past five years, Atlanta has seen 15% growth in tech jobs, comparable with other notable tech cities — 16% for the San Francisco Bay Area and 10% for Austin, Texas, according to CBRE.
Apple, Google and Microsoft have now heavily invested in the city with regional headquarters taking prominent roles in the city’s ecosystem and more than a dozen companies started or based in Atlanta have grown to valuations over the past decade above $1 billion, the threshold for so-called unicorn status.
Team:
Creative Director: Stefan Kjartansson
Art director Kevin Byrd
Designers: Farbod Kokabi, Mariel Harding, Yoonhwa Jang, and numerous other designers and interns.
Creative Director: Stefan Kjartansson
Art director Kevin Byrd
Designers: Farbod Kokabi, Mariel Harding, Yoonhwa Jang, and numerous other designers and interns.
See more of the work ︎︎︎
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