For immediate release, Contact Yang Kim / Peopledesign
616.459.4444, yang@peopledesign.com, www.peopledesign.com

Grand Rapids, MI – January 13, 2010 – Yang Kim, co-owner and executive creative director of Peopledesign, was invited to create an original piece for The Society of Typographic Arts (STA) alphabet poster series. Other participating designers and firms included Design Kitchen, Jessica Hische, Mark Simonson, Faust, Firebelly, and Rick Valicenti (Thirst). The posters were auctioned off in Chicago on December 9, 2010. Proceeds benefited the STA’s Jack Weiss Founder Scholarship Fund.

In all, the STA invited 26 designers—one for each letter of the alphabet—to select and graphically interpret a letter in their chosen medium. The letters were produced as 8”x10” posters and presented in frames. In addition to an auction of the framed original works, each letter also was bound into a book that was sold at the event.

“I chose ‘Y’ as my subject, of course,” Yang Kim said. As for the inspiration behind the design, “That’s always the toughest question,” she added. “You never know how you’ll get an idea. It kind of magically appears when you are thinking about it.” In this case, it came in the form of a package of animal-shaped rubber bands.

“These particular bands predate the Silly Bandz craze,” Kim said. “I found them about six years ago and since I like all things cute, I had to have them. They were designed by M Haneda & Y Ohashi from Passkey Design, a Tokyo-based firm. The bands recently surfaced on my desk and spoke to me. I wondered if they would make good letters.” She continued, “The moral of the story is to keep an open mind, because you never know how ideas will come together in your mind. Sometimes there’s a fine line between stupid and brilliant.”

The Jack Weiss Founder Scholarship Fund annually awards $500-$1000 scholarships to promising design students who demonstrate a significant understanding of the principles of design and visual communication.

About Peopledesign
Peopledesign transforms businesses by helping them conceive and produce innovative customer experiences. We work with leaders to find new sources of value through insights into customer behavior and customer experience strategy. Then we design tools to support the touchpoints between the business and its customers. Rooted in empathy for people, our work results in smart strategies that connect our clients with their customers and foster loyalty. For more information, visit www.peopledesign.com. Our new book is now available; learn more at www.brand-identity-essentials.com.

About Society of Typographic Arts
Since its inception in Chicago in 1927, the Society of Typographic Arts has been a vital participant in the Chicago design community, sponsoring seminars and conferences, and developing publications, including Trademarks USA (1964), Fifty Years of Graphic Design in Chicago (1977), Hermann Zapf and His Design Philosophy (1987), and ZYX: 26 Poetic Portraits (1989). Today, it serves as the driving force in Chicago design, presenting a diverse schedule of events, sponsoring the annual Archive competition, and hosting the Chicago Design Archive, a collection of significant work from the city. For more information on the event, visit www.sta-chicago.org.