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When Design Takes a Village: Celebrating Grand Central Publishing’s 10 Year Anniversary (Book Night)
April 20, 2016 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
On the tenth anniversary of the Grand Central Publishing imprint we will discuss the origins of its look and the development of its consistent visual brand. We will present samples from some of its many imprints, including but not limited to Grand Central, 12 Books, and Grand Central Life & Style. Our successes have often been the result not only of individual talent but of a thoughtful collaboration between our own strong team of Art Directors and a very long list of some of the best designers, illustrators and photographers in the business. We will look at humor in visual design, as well as the humor and camaraderie needed to get through the most difficult projects. It will be a fun and rewarding talk for anyone who has been involved in book cover design, even more so if you have ever been a direct contributor to GCP. We honor you.
Speaking will be Anne Twomey, VP Creative Director, GCP, Claire Brown, Art Director, GCP, and Liz Connor, Art Director, GCP.
Anne Twomey’s earliest memories are of drawing on the back of the large blueprints her father brought home from work, and of leading all the neighborhood kids on the next creative adventure. As a child of the sixties, she came by her love of Mid-Century design honestly, and after initially taking a more academic approach to the visual—earning a Fine Arts degree in drawing and painting from SUNY New Paltz—she discovered a love for type and an appreciation for its crucial role in graphic design, a love she fostered by continuing her studies at The School of Visual Arts with the likes of legendary designers Milton Glaser and Ed Benguiat. After 35 years in the book publishing industry, she considers her position as Creative Director of the Grand Central Publishing Art Department to be the role of a lifetime as it has allowed her to best pursue her goal of creating and fostering an award-winning design community. Like the title says, sometimes design takes a village.
Claire Brown grew up in South Florida, surrounded and inspired by its art deco style and natural beauty. In high school she traveled the world with her father—visiting the museums of Europe, exploring the cultures of China, India, and Africa—and after graduation attended Tulane University where she earned a B.A. in English Literature. She then moved to New York City where she studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League for a year while exploring the city. Deciding on a career in book publishing she started as an Executive Assistant in the Warner Books art department in 1999. The job evolved into her current role as an Art Director in the Grand Central Publishing art department. Over her 17 year career, she has had the privilege of working with many great visual artists, art directors, writers and editors and is proud to be part of a team that has won so many awards and created so many bestselling books.
After double-majoring in English Literature and Visual Arts at Brown University, Elizabeth Connor received her B.A. in 1997. She started in book jacket design straight out of college (thanks Radcliffe Publishing Program job fair!) as Assistant to the Art Director of William Morrow and—with the exception of a two-year absence spent earning her M.F.A. in Visual Communications from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—has remained in the field, also doing time at HarperCollins, Penguin, and St. Martin’s Press. But she has been lucky enough to work at Grand Central Publishing since June 2008, by far her longest gig to date.