Making her mark
Making her mark
March 11, 2010
Assistant Professor of Design Jan Conradi has succeeded in a goal that cannot actually be designed - the inclusion of her book in The New York Times Book Review.
Professor Conradi's book, Unimark International: The Design of Business and the Business of Design, was included in a March 7 review that reported a trend in books about mapmaking. Though hers isn't about mapmaking per se, Conradi's book traces the rise and fall of the company that devised the signage system and an iconic map for the New York subway system.
Reviewer Steven Heller noted that Chicago-based Unimark, whose many blue-chip clients included the Ford Motor Company, JCPenney, Target and American Airlines, practiced "corporate branding before the term became as widespread as it is today."
And, he noted, for readers interested in the history of corporate branding, "this is an early missing link."
Professor Conradi, who joined the Rowan University Department of Art in September, said she couldn't have been more excited to have her first book included in a review by the NY Times.
"It is a dream come true," she said. "There's been a lot of great feedback from the design community and from family and friends."
Professor Conradi's book, Unimark International: The Design of Business and the Business of Design, was included in a March 7 review that reported a trend in books about mapmaking. Though hers isn't about mapmaking per se, Conradi's book traces the rise and fall of the company that devised the signage system and an iconic map for the New York subway system.
Reviewer Steven Heller noted that Chicago-based Unimark, whose many blue-chip clients included the Ford Motor Company, JCPenney, Target and American Airlines, practiced "corporate branding before the term became as widespread as it is today."
And, he noted, for readers interested in the history of corporate branding, "this is an early missing link."
Professor Conradi, who joined the Rowan University Department of Art in September, said she couldn't have been more excited to have her first book included in a review by the NY Times.
"It is a dream come true," she said. "There's been a lot of great feedback from the design community and from family and friends."
Unimark, which built its reputation on clean, modern design in logos, furniture and interior design, packaging, even the products themselves, started with offices in Chicago, New York, and Milan in 1965. The company quickly opened 11 offices around the world but, despite early success, folded less than 15 years later.
Professor Conradi developed an early interest in Unimark, once considered among the world's most influential design firms, and while a graduate student in Iowa wrote her thesis about it. Her book on the design firm developed from her thesis research.
"For me this book was a 20-year process," she said.
The book, published by Lars Müller Publishers, was also cited in the NY Times in a January obituary of Bob Noorda, one of six Unimark co-founders.
Professor Conradi said she is delighted to be part of Rowan's design program, which has about 60 undergraduate majors in the Department of Art. There are three dedicated faculty members: herself, Department of Art chair Susan Bowman, and Assistant Professor Jen Thwing.
Professor Conradi will host a book signing and lecture March 28 in the Rowan University Art Gallery in Westby Hall. For more information, contact Professor Conradi at conradi@rowan.edu.
