In order to see the work of famed graphic designer Rick Valicenti, one could visit the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City, or the Art Institute of Chicago. Soon, they can be viewed at Illinois State University.
Valicenti is donating more than 100 pieces of his design work to the Wonsook Kim School of Art and Milner Library at Illinois State.
“He is a rock star, a legend,” said Professor of Graphic Design Archana Shekara. “His work is in our textbooks. Students in my classes make presentations about Rick Valicenti and his contributions to design.”
In the fall of 2021, Shekara invited Valicenti to speak at Illinois State as part of the Cross-Platform Lecture Series, supported by the Harold B. Sage Foundation. Valicenti has given lectures and workshops across five continents, though noted the experience at Illinois State was unique. “It was such a rewarding experience to work with these students and connect,” said Valicenti, who has taught design at the School of the Art Institute and Loyola University in Chicago.
Ultimately, design captures a moment in time.
Rick Valicenti
Along with speaking to a packed house at Illinois State’s University Galleries, Valicenti took time to give a workshop for students who are part of the University’s Design Streak Studio, of which Shekara is creative and art director. “Our curriculum is about cultural understanding in design, and how we approach design as community engagement,” said Shekara.
The visit and ongoing conversations with Shekara convinced Valicenti that leaving an archive of his works to Illinois State could provide a greater scope for students. “When students look at one brochure, or one poster at a small scale either on the web or in a journal, they cannot see the experiential context,” said Valicenti.
Over his storied career, Valicenti has designed work for Motorola, Herman Miller, Chicago Board of Trade, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Exhibit Columbus, Indiana. He began as a photographer and production artist before landing a job at a design firm creating branding and image. “It was a crash course in creativity on demand,” said Valicenti. “You have a steep learning curve, demands from people, and demands upon yourself. It’s not easy to navigate.” Identity design moves beyond logos, he added, and encompasses everything from environmental signage to external advertising, from the typeface used on billboards to paper stock used in stationery. “Ultimately design captures a moment in time,” he said.
The collected items contain a myriad of pieces, including postcards, brochures, posters, programs, and invitations. “We usually encounter design as the consumer. We don’t necessarily encounter it from that designer’s perspective,” said Milner’s Fine Arts Librarian Heather Koopmans. “That means our interpretation is discombobulated—a website here, an advertisement there. Seeing a series of works offers students a chance to see the connections, the evolution of a designer.”
Valicenti’s evolution included working with identity when digital design was in its infancy. Rather than be intimated by the swift changes, Valicenti embraced the chance for innovation. “If you wait for the client to tell you what they want, then you will only ever be as good as the client who walks in the door,” said Valicenti. “When you self-initiate projects, you are already at the forefront.”
Binary code (code based in a series of ones and zeros) is at the core of computing, and so Valicenti directed his team to create a program that converted the ones and zeros to show up as cans of Coke Zero and Pepsi One. They used this “can code” on the King James Book of Genesis. “After I presented it at a conference, folks from Adobe came to me and asked, ‘How did you do this in their InDesign platform?’ and I was able to share the code with them.”
The can code work, known as “Intelligent Design,” is included in the collection, which means copies are available not only for graphic design students in their classes, but also for the entire University community through the library. “The collaboration between the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and Milner Library enhances student access,” said Special Collections Librarian Rebecca Fitzsmmons, who will organize the donation into the general collection and Special Collections. “Having pieces in the library’s general collection gives the work another rich life where it will be accessible to a huge number of people.”
For Shekara, the donation is an affirmation of the mission of Design Streak and the graphic design program at Illinois State. “Rick has been so generous with his time, working with the students, and sharing his work,” she said. “He’s been a professional role model for me. And this gift tells me we are on the right track.”
