Patrick Gallagher, president and founder of the Washington, D.C.‐based museum planning and exhibition design firm Gallagher & Associates, has been named an SEGD Fellow, environmental graphic design’s highest professional honor.
Gallagher joins the ranks of EGD laureates Massimo Vignelli, Lance Wyman, David Gibson, Deborah Sussman, Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar, and others recognized for promoting the highest standards in EGD and significantly contributing to the direction and growth of the field.
Through his design firm Gallagher & Associates, Gallagher has led the development of notable museum planning and exhibition design projects around the world, from the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., to the Shanghai Museum of Natural History and the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. His experience spans more than 30 years and includes projects ranging from museum planning and exhibition design to full‐service museum development projects.
In addition to building a global design practice with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Singapore, and directing projects dotting the globe, Gallagher has been an active member of SEGD since 1999, is a former president of its Board of Directors, and was instrumental in the development of SEGD’s award‐winning magazine.
Gallagher also chaired the 2011 SEGD Exhibition and Experience Design Symposium at Cranbrook Academy of Art, which focused on global expansion of design business. He writes, lectures, and teaches to share his 30 years of experience in design and the building of a highly successful worldwide design practice.
“Patrick has made enormous and vital contributions to the field of environmental graphic design,” says Leslie
Gallery Dilworth, former CEO of SEGD. “He was among those who led the integration of exhibit design, storytelling, and interpretive design into the mainstream of SEGD. His strategic approach and analysis set a new model for planning and design of museums with the for‐profit International Spy Museum in D.C. His projects read like a Who’s Who of visitor centers and museums around the world.”
Gallagher was honored June 8 during the 2012 SEGD Conference in New York. The annual SEGD Excellence Awards are an important part of SEGD’s mission to promote best practices and ethical standards in environmental graphic design, says Sue Gould, president of Lebowitz | Gould | Design (New York) and chair of the SEGD Excellence Awards committee. “It’s vital that we recognize the individuals, companies, and organizations that—through their commitment to human‐centered, effective design in the built environment—help define the highest standards in environmental graphic design.”
SEGD also bestowed its Distinguished Member, Arrow, and Insight awards for 2012:
Distinguished Member Award: David Middleton
David Middleton is a leading EGD educator and one of the key architects of SEGD’s Academic Education program. An Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University (Kent, Ohio), he served on the SEGD Board of Directors from 2006 to 2012 and was a member of its Academic Education Committee. Since 2003, he has directed and curated the Kent State/SEGD Summer Workshop, a structured, high‐level immersion in environmental graphic design. Currently, he is working on the launch of a new SEGD academic journal, Communication + Place.
Arrow Award: CREO Industrial Arts
CREO Industrial Arts was honored for its longstanding demonstration of exemplary service to the field of
environmental graphic design, for advancing technologies and manufacturing in the field, and for its long‐term support of SEGD events and educational programs. CREO is known for its consistent focus on advancing standards of quality in environmental graphics and custom architectural signage. Since 1984, CREO has collaborated with leading design firms on such high‐profile and wide‐ranging projects as Santa Monica Place, the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle, The Everett Clinic, and The Americana at Brand.
Insight Award: David Harvey and the American Museum of Natural History
The SEGD Insight Award annually recognizes a design client for consistently commissioning EGD programs that significantly enhance or promote opportunities for the field and EGD education, and for demonstrating a
longstanding commitment to the field. In his role as Senior Vice President for Exhibition for one of the world’s
largest museums, David Harvey has overseen the development of numerous blockbuster exhibitions, including Traveling the Silk Road, Beyond Planet Earth, Water, and the ongoing Creatures of Light, in addition to awardwinning permanent exhibitions on a range of topics. Harvey and other key decision‐makers developed the new Explorer iPhone/iPad app to help visitors navigate AMNH’s 46 permanent exhibition halls in 26 buildings. While leading by example in the EGD community, his work in developing world‐class exhibitions has also been recognized by The New York Times and the museum and design worlds at large.
