Michael Adams (graphic designer)
Encyclopedia
Michael Adams is an American
graphic designer for marketing and sales promotion. He was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
, and raised as a military dependent in the U.S. Air Force. He studied painting in Germany under Ernst Krupp and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts
in New York City
. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Catholic University
with a minor equivalency in architectural design.
As a student in New York, Adams was a freelance artist in the office of Herb Lubalin
, and was encouraged by Roger Ferriter
, a Lubalin associate (creator of the L’eggs
pantyhose name, package, logo and branding).
Early in his career, Adams was recruited by Italian hotel promoter Ernesto Barba
to help launch the twin Soto Grande Hotels in southern Spain, and he later became the marketing designer for the launch of two additional overseas properties, the Ritz Taipei Hotel and the Sheraton Taipei Hotel.
In New York, Adams was hired by Wells Rich Greene Advertising, Ketchum Advertising and Siegel+Gale, where he worked with designers Don Ervin and Tony Palladino. While at Ketchum Advertising, under creative director Peter Cornish, he wrote and designed “An Opportunity to be Creative,” a direct mail fund raising package for New York City’s Central Park Conservancy which was a finalist in the Caples Direct Marketing Awards.
Adams was an outside creative consultant to Rowland Worldwide, a public relations organization. He contributed strategy and design for RW clients including Dupont, Canon, McDonalds, M&M Mars, Sandoz and Pedigree. He created the M&Ms candy cow exhibit, which earned M&M Mars much free publicity due to unsolicited media coverage. Candy the Cow was a fiberglass bovine covered with 66,000 M&M candies. The promotion was reported on as news by Newsweek Magazine ("udderly amazing"), the NY POST, WABC television, and other media, and appeared as a live "guest" on Live with Regis, where Regis talked about the nutritional value of milk chocolate, the strategic premise of the promotion. Candy the Cow was the precursor to Cow Parade, launched eight years later.
Adams is a visual arts teacher and author of the visual arts primer called Help Yourself to a Blue Banana (Behind the Scenes Books, 2005, revised and updated 2008, 354 pp.), which is the outline of a theory of visual perception called "Nine Lessons of Light." He is an adjunct professor of art and design at Montclair State University.
Adams is the designer and patent holder of Jigamajoy, a 360º playing-card-based game/puzzle. A license agreement with Ravensburger
was drafted in August 2007, but was subsequently put on hold due to concerns over Chinese toy recalls.
Outside of his design career, Adams was founder of Military Brats of America, an organization for children of American military personnel. In this role, Adams was profiled by Richard Pyle of the Associated Press in an article which appeared in 300 newspapers. Other newspapers published feature articles about the organization including the Syracuse American, The Arizona Republic and The Haittesburg American. He was interviewed on National Public Radio, and appeared on the early cable channel called America’s Talking. For the organization, Adams designed a logo, mascot, membership cards, member literature and the group's magazine called "Brats."
In 2003 Adams founded Behind the Scenes Marketing, a promotion/branding firm just outside of New York. He is the owner and creative director.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
graphic designer for marketing and sales promotion. He was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802....
, and raised as a military dependent in the U.S. Air Force. He studied painting in Germany under Ernst Krupp and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Catholic University
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
with a minor equivalency in architectural design.
As a student in New York, Adams was a freelance artist in the office of Herb Lubalin
Herb Lubalin
Herbert F. Lubalin was a prominent American graphic designer. He collaborated with Ralph Ginzburg on three of Ginzburg's magazines: Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde, and was responsible for the creative visual beauty of these publications...
, and was encouraged by Roger Ferriter
Roger Ferriter
Roger Ferriter is a graphic designer most renowned as the progenitor of the L'eggs name, logo and packaging design . Although the concept was initially considered 'a marketing risk' by the board members at Hanes back in 1969, the risk turned into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise...
, a Lubalin associate (creator of the L’eggs
L’eggs
L'eggs is a popular brand of pantyhose introduced in 1969 by Hanes. The hosiery premiered a unique trade dress by placing its product in white plastic oversized chicken-egg-shaped containers and garnering shelf space in supermarkets and drugstores, most frequently on revolving carousel L'eggs...
pantyhose name, package, logo and branding).
Early in his career, Adams was recruited by Italian hotel promoter Ernesto Barba
Ernesto Barba
Ernesto Barba was an Italian hotelier whose career was split between corporate positions in the international hospitality industry, and the entrepreneural years he spent as a self-employed marketing guru and hotel general-manager-for-hire.He was born in 1935...
to help launch the twin Soto Grande Hotels in southern Spain, and he later became the marketing designer for the launch of two additional overseas properties, the Ritz Taipei Hotel and the Sheraton Taipei Hotel.
In New York, Adams was hired by Wells Rich Greene Advertising, Ketchum Advertising and Siegel+Gale, where he worked with designers Don Ervin and Tony Palladino. While at Ketchum Advertising, under creative director Peter Cornish, he wrote and designed “An Opportunity to be Creative,” a direct mail fund raising package for New York City’s Central Park Conservancy which was a finalist in the Caples Direct Marketing Awards.
Adams was an outside creative consultant to Rowland Worldwide, a public relations organization. He contributed strategy and design for RW clients including Dupont, Canon, McDonalds, M&M Mars, Sandoz and Pedigree. He created the M&Ms candy cow exhibit, which earned M&M Mars much free publicity due to unsolicited media coverage. Candy the Cow was a fiberglass bovine covered with 66,000 M&M candies. The promotion was reported on as news by Newsweek Magazine ("udderly amazing"), the NY POST, WABC television, and other media, and appeared as a live "guest" on Live with Regis, where Regis talked about the nutritional value of milk chocolate, the strategic premise of the promotion. Candy the Cow was the precursor to Cow Parade, launched eight years later.
Adams is a visual arts teacher and author of the visual arts primer called Help Yourself to a Blue Banana (Behind the Scenes Books, 2005, revised and updated 2008, 354 pp.), which is the outline of a theory of visual perception called "Nine Lessons of Light." He is an adjunct professor of art and design at Montclair State University.
Adams is the designer and patent holder of Jigamajoy, a 360º playing-card-based game/puzzle. A license agreement with Ravensburger
Ravensburger
Ravensburger Spieleverlag GmbH is a German game company. It is a leader in the European puzzle market.-History:The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier with seat in Ravensburg, a town in Upper Swabia in southern Germany. He began publishing in 1883 with his first author contract...
was drafted in August 2007, but was subsequently put on hold due to concerns over Chinese toy recalls.
Outside of his design career, Adams was founder of Military Brats of America, an organization for children of American military personnel. In this role, Adams was profiled by Richard Pyle of the Associated Press in an article which appeared in 300 newspapers. Other newspapers published feature articles about the organization including the Syracuse American, The Arizona Republic and The Haittesburg American. He was interviewed on National Public Radio, and appeared on the early cable channel called America’s Talking. For the organization, Adams designed a logo, mascot, membership cards, member literature and the group's magazine called "Brats."
In 2003 Adams founded Behind the Scenes Marketing, a promotion/branding firm just outside of New York. He is the owner and creative director.