About This Site
This blog was originally created for my students at the California College of the Arts (CCA).It has since evolved into a repository of general thinking and writing on design, creativity and culture.
He is the principal/creative director of the noted San Francisco design office, MINE™ where he designs and directs projects for a variety of clients, including Facebook, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, The Nature Conservancy of California, Chronicle Books, Simon & Schuster, Obama for America and a diversity of nonprofit and entrepreneurial clients. His work has been exhibited at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Hiroshima, Japan, The Pasadena Museum of California Art, The Museum of Craft & Design, The Smithsonian Institution, and is part of the permanent design archives of the Denver Art Museum.
The author of four books, Simmons also lectures on design issues for colleges, universities and professional associations throught the United States, and frequently participates as a judge for major design competitions. He is an adjunct professor of design at The California College of the Arts (CCA) and a past president of the San Francisco AIGA, the professional association for design. Among his enduring accomplishments in that role were the creation of San Francisco Design Week, and the introduction of the first public design-oriented lectures at the Apple Store. On completion of Simmons’ tenure on AIGA’s board, mayor Gavin Newsom issued an official proclamation declaring San Francisco to be a city where “design makes a difference.”
Simmons has been interviewed on design issues by National Public Radio, the New York Times and the CBS Evening News, and has appeared as a guest on 99% Invisible and Design Matters. In 2013 he was named one of “50 most influential designers working today.”
Interviews
Selected Audio Interviews
Lists & Links
Writing (Books)
Just Design, 208pp (HOW Design Books, 2011)
LogoLab, 144pp (HOW Design Books, 2005)
Color Harmony, 160pp (Rockport Publishers, 2006)
Letterhead & Logo Design 9, 224pp (Rockport Publishers, 2005)
Writing (Editorial)
The UC Logo Controversy (AIGA.org)
What Design Can’t Do, (GAIN, AIGA’s Journal of Design & Business, 2010)
Interview of Doug Akagi, (AIGA San Francisco, 2011)
My First Time (STEP Magazine, regular column since 2007)
The Process of Teaching Process, Feature Article (Art Bistro/Monster Worldwide, 2008)
Being Original, Feature Article (Art Bistro/Worldwide, 2008)
How to Be a Good Student, Feature Article (Art Bistro/Worldwide, 2008)
The Right Fit, Feature Article (Art Bistro/Worldwide, 2008)
For Goodness Sake, Feature Article (HOW Magazine, 2008)
Design Moves West, article (Create Magazine, 2005)
That Sound You Hear Sucking, Guest Editorial (Speakup, 2004)
American Institute of Architects (AIA), San Francisco
AIGA National Conference, 2009
AIGA National Conference, 2013
AIGA Honolulu
AIGA San Francisco (Keynote Speaker)
AIGA Y-Conference 12, San Diego, CA
Art Directors Club, Washington, DC
Association of American Law Schools
Brand New Conference
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA
CASE Conference
Compostmodern
Cusp Conference, Chicago, IL
Dallas Society of Visual Communicators (Keynote Speaker)
HOW Conference, Boston
Lotus Awards, Vancouver, BC
Public Relations Society of Sacramento
Re:Charge 08 (Keynote Speaker), Jacksonville, FL
Re:Design / Creative Directors, Palm Springs, CA
Re:Design / Inspire, Los Angeles, CA
RGD National Design Conference, Toronto, ON
Sacramento Art Directors and Artists Club
Sacramento State University
San Jose State University
UC Santa Cruz
Western Art Directors Club
AIGA 365 / Year in Design
AIGA: Justified
AIGA Cincinnati
AIGA Hawaii
AIGA Pittsburgh
AIGA San Francisco
Art Directors Club, OK
Art Directors Club, Washington, DC
Graphic Design USA
Lotus Awards (Canada)
PINC
RGD Ontario (Canada)
STEP Magazine
Web Marketing Association
