[REDACTED] | |
Company type | LLC |
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Industry | Design |
Founded | 2020; 5 years ago (2020) in Chicago, Illinois |
Founders | John Pobojewski, Bud Rodecker |
Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
Key people |
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Website | span |
Span is an American multidisciplinary studio in Chicago, Illinois, 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. 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.
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.
The identity for Bronzeville, Chicago’s new public park, the South Side Sanctuary.
Co-producing with Manual Cinema the puppetry + digital animation film, Countdown.
Designing Slow & Low, a retrospective book of Chicago’s Lowrider community.
Awards
- Anthem Awards for Sustainability, Environment & Climate, 2023.
- AIGA 365, 2022.
- Society of Typographic Arts, STA 100, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.
- AIGA 365, 2024.
Identities designed
- Logo for Copi the new name for Asian carp
- The Copi food truck at the 2023 Illinois State Fair in Springfield Illinois
- [REDACTED] Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority logo
- [REDACTED] Identity for Nazareth University, rebranded as NAZ
- [REDACTED] Identity for Chicago's Nature Museum
Further reading
- The Definitive Ranking of 2023s Best and Worst Branding, December, 2023, Fast Co Design
- To Hook American Diners an Invasive Species of Carp Gets a New Name, The Economist, June, 2022
- Save the Planet by Eating this Big Ugly Fish, March, 2023
- Merriam Webster Dictionary Copi Definition
- Asian carp rebranded as Copi to tackle US environmental crisis Design Week, December, 2022
- Span Designs Two Exhibitions in Celebration of Trees, Design Week, May, 2023
- Illinois Department of Natural Resources official launch with John Goss, Brian Jupiter and Span
- CooperHewitt.org Behind the Book Design
- How Good Design Promotes Good Health, Smithsonian Magazine, February, 2022
- New Chicago park identity reflects the rich history and culture of the city’s South Side, Creative Boom, August, 2024
- Right Before your Prairie Eyes, Brand New, May, 2024
- Where should you travel this summer? Let these city logos decide for you – interview with Bud Rodecker, July, 2024
- “Slow & Low Celebrates Chicago’s Vibrant Lowrider Culture, Print Magazine, May, 2024
References
- Chicago Graphic Design Club January, 2022
- Span site
- Thirst announcement, Dec. 2019
- Nick Adam Is Associate Partner/Design Director At Span Graphic Design USA May, 2023
- Jay, Corli (25 April 2024). "The Nature Museum gets a brand makeover — its first in 20 years". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- Bamford, Abbey (20 May 2024). "Span takes influence from Illinois's native prairies for Chicago's Nature Museum brand". Creative Boom. Creative Boom. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- To Hook American Diners an Invasive Species of Carp Gets a New Name, The Economist, June, 2022
- America's Least Favourite Fish Gets a Rebrand, Creative Review, June 2022
- Can rebranding invasive carp make it more appealing to eat, Smithsonian, June 2022"
- From Carp to Copi, Unpopular fish gets a makeover, "U.S. News & World Report, June 2022"
- "From ‘carp’ to ‘copi’: unpopular fish getting a makeover", apnews.com, June 22, 2022.]
- New Logo and Identity for Chicago's RTA by Span, Brand New, December, 2022
- Carbon neutral, Design Indaba, November, 2022
- CooperHewitt.org
- Epidemics - A Force for Life-Changing Innovation, New York Times, December, 2021
- The Invasive Branding of Nazareth University, The Daily Heller / Print Magazine, August, 2023
- Custom Type Anchors a Vibrant Identity for Chicago’s Newest Public Park, Print magazine, August, 2024
- Span studio website
- A new book by Span pays homage to lowrider culture, April, 2024
- Anthem Awards site
- AIGA 365 site
- STA 100 site