Recognition
2014 AIGA Medal
Born
1961, Durham, North Carolina
By Steven Heller
September 8, 2014
Recognized for decades of design that engages the imagination through wit, surprise, intelligence and delight, no matter how complex the story.
Alexander Isley, former president of AIGA New York from 2004 to 2006 and an AIGA Fellow, is one of the ringleaders of a school of visual irony that was pervasive in late 1980s and early 1990s graphic design. Born at the tail end of the baby boom generation, Isley created work that combined conceptual hilarity with vernacular styling. His nuanced, comic design mannerisms and typographic acuity create a delightfully snarky attitude that defined graphic design of the era before digital pyrotechnics stole the stage.
Isley’s discovery of the profession, he claims, was fairly typical “in that no one grows up wanting to be a graphic designer; most of us sort of stumble upon it.” From an early age, Isley wanted to be an architect, like his father. Nothing was more exciting to him than watching his father drawing a building and then, a few months later, being able to walk through that same space.
He enrolled at North Carolina State University College of Design to study architecture, but exposure to graphic design was such a cathartic discovery, he realized it was his destiny. “Graphic design suited my impatient nature,” he explains. “There was no need to collaborate with dozens of associates, no need to meet with steering committees or zoning boards…. And you didn’t have to wait until you were 60 to hit your creative stride.”
Spy magazine cover: “Welcome to Rat City,” 1988 Client: Spy magazine; Art director: Alexander Isley; Designer: Alexander Isley; Photographer: Neil Selkirk.
Restaurant Florent postcard, 1985 Client: Florent Morellet; Design firm: M&Co.; Creative director: Tibor Kalman; Designer and writer: Alexander Isley; Illustrator: Alexander Isley with the Yellow Pages.
“The AIGA Humor Show” call for entries poster, 1986 Client: AIGA; Design firm: M&Co.; Creative director: Tibor Kalman; Art director, designer and writer: Alexander Isley; Writer: Danny Abelson.
After two years, Isley moved to New York to study at Cooper Union. There, he found his métier and honed his conceptual chops, discovering a humorous persona along the way. He spent two and a half years at the wellspring of in-your-face irony, M&Co, where just a short time after graduation he became art director. This positioned him to become art director of the mid-1980s flagship of social and cultural ironic writing and design, Spy magazine. Following in the footsteps of 2014 AIGA Medalist Stephen Doyle, who created a format for Spy that was being forever mimicked was not easy, but Isley successfully put his distinct imprimatur on the magazine, which fit nicely with its slyly stinging visual humor.
Spy gave Isley the confidence to start his own studio, in 1988. “I had some savings and no responsibilities” (and no clients or employees), he recalls, “but I figured the time was right.” In 1995 he moved Alexander Isley Inc. from New York City to the Georgetown section of Redding, Connecticut. The office is located in an 1880s building that once housed the area’s general store: “Where once there were pickle barrels there are now CPUs, but other than that most of the old character remains.”
Isley’s work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. It has been honored by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design, the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Publication Designers and the Webby Awards, among others.
Staten Island Ferry Terminal environmental graphics program, 1999 Client: City of New York; Design firm: Alexander Isley Inc.; Creative director: Alexander Isley; Designer: Liesl Kaplan; Architects: Schwartz Architects.
“New Music America” poster, 1989 Client: Brooklyn Academy of Music; Design firm: Alexander Isley Inc.; Creative director: Alexander Isley; Designer: Alexander Knowlton; Writer: Yale Evelev, Alexander Isley.
A/X: Armani Exchange packaging, 1992 Client: Giorgio Armani; Design firm: Alexander Isley Inc.; Creative director: Alexander Isley; Designers: Tim Convery, Alexander Knowlton; Developed in association with Weiss, Whitten, Carroll, Stagliano.
Animal Planet packaging program, 2002 Client: Toys"R"Us; Design firm: Alexander Isley Inc.; Creative director, designer and writer: Alexander Isley; Designers: Tracie Rosenkopf-Lissauer, Liesl Kaplan.
His approach to typography and design might be considered postmodern in its rejection of modern rules, but rather than replace design ideology with more ideology, Isley injected an easygoing yet insightful personality into work that both conformed to and transcended dominant style. His light, sometimes idiosyncratic touch was well suited for audiences that enjoyed eclecticism rather than formulaic formalism.
Isley’s work is of its time but not a slave to the moment. His career is one of regular renewal and keen introspection. On the 25th anniversary of starting his own studio, Isley admitted that he thinks he’s good “in demystifying the design process for clients” and knows he’s bad “in taking on too much work we shouldn’t do because I just like to create things.” Not a bad burden, all things considered.
