Designers:
Michael Beirut: Born in Cleveland, he studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati and is now heads up the very awesome and multi talented Pentagram firm. He has gleaned hundreds of awards and is also an expert on environmental design.
http://www.pentagram.com/partners/#/20
Neville Brody: This master of art and type trained at the London College of Printing and the Hornsey College of Art, he offered his hand at designing iconic album covers for bands like Cabaret Voltaire and Depeche Mode. Now the Head of the Communication Art and Design Department at the Royal College of Art, he is a staple of the modern industry.
http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/reputations-neville-brody
David Carson: Known for the great quote “Graphic Design will save the world right after rock and roll does”, this creator was head guru for Ray Gun Magazine and one of the masters of modern “Grunge” typography.
http://www.davidcarsondesign.com
Chip Kidd: This much more than legendary designer helped with the covers of so many books that he has earned the title by far of one of the absolute best in the nation. Woody Allen, Henri Postroski, Michael Kammen and many more used him for the covering duties of their books. James Ellroy’s vintage styled novels really come to life with Chip’s diverse art on the front.
Stefan Sagmeister: Coming from one of the happiest areas of the globe, this Austrian studied at New York’s Pratt and created a wonderfully surreal poster for renowned rock star Lou Reed. Also responsible for noteworthy and winning-with-the-masses covers for bands like Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Ok Go, he’s been sought after and a very major front runner for decades.
http://www.sagmeisterwalsh.com
Paula Scher: With one of the most magic touches in branding that exists, her posters have so much originality they really are to die for, as for as anyone concerned in the art and marketing world. Getting her start in children’s books in the Big Apple, she also created covers for Leonard Bernstein and is a legend in the advertising world. Using post modern techniques and having a true command of her craft, she shines like almost no other.
Maria Gronlund: From the sometimes dreary yet very creative location of Denmark, this is one up and coming artist who is gaining much recognition and praise. A true wealth of creative talent at its best and riddled with images of spiritual sense that also have a dash of broody charm, her work resonates with many quite well across the board.
https://www.behance.net/MariaGroenlund
Violaine and Jeremy: an incredibly creative duo from the most romantic city on the planet, these two have pencil art that really rocks along with a knack for using every walk of life available to the imagination. Concepts of everything from soldiers to global letterheads and blue backgrounds have set this team an elemental notch above many others in the trade.
https://www.behance.net/violaineetjeremy
Minga Firm: This playfully inspired firm from Argentina has some branding and design works that surpass many others in the region and the world. The almost childish infusion of astute business and modern design that collides with the warmest tones and triggers to good memory are well worth a nod and thumbs up.
Nicole Martinez: This nerd embracing designer is the creative director for Genuine Interactive in New York. Her style really washes over the viewer immediately, with successful designs for Liberty Mutual and the ultra popular Coachella Music Festival in tow. Her infographics have the most organic and natural appeal of nearly any we’ve seen, ranking her high on our list of designers.
https://www.behance.net/iconico
Rob Pratt: The fearless leader of Jungle Creative, this talented soul’s business cards, web design, and well conceived leaflets take the cake for what’s available in the current sphere of ad creators. Playboy, IMG, and the phone and gadget innovator Samsung all use his skills for their outreach and print/web campaigns. Gold winner at Logo Design 8, he’s an ingenious force to be reckoned with.
https://www.behance.net/RobPratt
Anti/Anti: in 2007, this group vowed to do away in many different forms with red tape and office politics they had seen crippling firms in years past. Coca Cola, awesome skate brand ES, and many other huge names have hired out this burgeoning talent for their needs. Known as real people with exceptional talent, they have a commanding presence in the industry.
Wax: This very well rounded Canadian firm has snatched up over 200 awards, and designed great product for the Philharmonic Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, and energy company Enbridge. One firm in the vast sea of talent who has near perfect visualization and skills, their ads and design speak huge numbers about their potential and clean layouts with direct and effective messaging galore.
Urban Influence: The Pacific Northwest is one true hotbed of talent in the US for the culinary, graphic design, and outdoorsman’s interest themed companies. A true authority on digital management and an entity that survived a fire within its headquarters, they have clients under their belt such as auto warranty authority Endurance, and Seattle Metropolitan Magazine.
The Partners: Offices in New York, London, and Singapore are all had in stride by this dynamic company began in 1983. With a team of over 80 very talented beings, they have clients like Ebay, BBC, Ford, and Jaguar. You know that you are really kicking butt when you are working with clients depicted in the world’s most popular show about advertising in the 1960’s; their Cannes Awards alone are sign of stellar discipline and achievement.
Pearlfisher: Offices in London and New York are part of the intricate balance of design and creation that this firm possesses along with its mantra of “giving brands powerful expression”. More than ten gold DBA design Effectiveness Awards, huge clients such as Starbucks, and their skill to literally give their contacts and customers a better future have held this company up high in the large playing field of today’s advertising spectrum.
Studio Number One: Created in the legendary City of Angles in 2003, this LA based gold nugget of creative talent boasts many who have found their way to it like Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Google, Levi’s, and the Webby Awards. Known as a bit off the beaten path and disobedient, they claim loyalty and true creative commando style guidance to many over the course of their rewarding creative work.
Johannes Leonardo: Gifting itself with the utmost in bold slogans “The Consumer is the Medium”, this great creative firm has reaped clients like Google, Nike, perfume giant Chanel and has also had good reviews from Advertising Age. This is one great firm that is always striving to perform well in the droves of new business and development.
http://www.johannesleonardo.com
Photographers:
David Lindsey Wade: Working with elements like Nashville Visitors Bureau, Keds, Reebok, and Gatorade, This visionary photographer also has had a stunning layout campaign for king rum Bacardi.
Lee Towndrow: Creating films like “Derby & Groma”, “Morning of My Life”, and having a role in Lego Robot Portraits as well as Trimark Animations, she for a while was loosely based in Buineos Aires and is a large influence and contributor to images worldwide.
http://leetowndrow.com/biography
Kalle Gustasfon: Taking pictures of epic women, stars, and models, Kalle’s rich work is of the caliber that truly speaks for itself. Distinguished as an artist with an utterly European vibe, this is one powerhouse of a truly different vibe in the world of commercial photography.
Henrik Knudsen: Born in Denmark, Henrik studied computer science and math, and now divides his work interests between London and New York. He has taken some wonderful material in Europe and has an ever-gaining popularity.
http://www.henrikknudsen.com/overview
Koen Demeuynk: possessing a great portfolio of animal exposure, Danish streets and a very keen and streamlined eye, this is one guy who takes a grey area literally and can provide a wonderful worldview through his lens.
Sarah Cheng De Winne: Formally trained in art and design, Sarah tackles topics like women in media, urbanization, and objects of beauty. NAF art shows, PEEK, and Inquest of Beauty are some of the collective things she’s done, and she studies deeply the psychology of the printed medium.
http://www.sarahcheng-dewinne.com
Cornelia Adams: not necessarily a single person but an agency that represents photographers who specialize in editorials, and firmly believe that incredibly rabid and growing talent is abundant in many printed outlets.
Andrew Hobbs: A brilliant mix of black and white, focus on unique fashion and some truly wonderful and natural nude projects are abundant in this talent’s featured prints. A penchant for long and narrow faces and other lovely retreats of beauty envelope this artist’s selective and original works.
Simon Powell: forming member of Hothead in the UK, a natural eye in the studio and a portfolio full of influences are among the heavy hitting qualities of this talented and diversified eye.
http://www.simonpowell.net/master.html
Angie’s List: A smart and internet savvy consumer’s guide to photographers that is strongly based on reputations and reviews, it is a beginning portal to finding what you need for all sorts of services.
http://www.angieslist.com/special-events/Photography-videography.htm
Photographers Index: consisting of members who are good for weddings, portraits, other events, stock photos, links to picture licensing systems, and studio rental are all included in this mammoth list.
Photo Marketing Tips: Guilds, societies, professional certs; also White House News are among the groupings here that can steer you in the right direction to finding a pro.
http://www.photo-marketing-tips.com/?page_id=5
Photographers of California Member Directory: This is one state where some of the best talent resides, and also some of the best scenery and backdrops. Find a professional in the place where entertainment dreams really come alive.
http://www.ppconline.com/find-a-photographer
PPA: Professional Photographers of America: Degree information, certification specs, an updated newsfeed, and tons of useful info are on this URL that is a huge starting point for info for professional shutterbugs.
List of top ten Houston Wedding Photographers: this huge and cosmopolitan metropolis of the Southern US is always a great destination and a place where you will need to always be on the search for top notch talent, and here is a portal for finding some pros to capture the tying of the knot.
http://houstonweddingphotographer.net
Sal Lopes: Featured in many indexes as one of the top world’s photographers, he was a 2013 Anchor Award winner and worked exclusively in Newport, Rhode Island’s Benson studio in the 1970’s. His print work is very high caliber and was feature on ABC’s “Nightline” as well.
Benjamin Lowy: Known as a top conflict/war photographer, he was very out front about its importance, and covered the Iraq War for Time magazine. Some of his photos from Afghanistan dealing with daily life were featured in The New York Times in 2011, and he also took many shots of cage fighting to help him deal with post traumatic stress.
Jerry Avenaim: Hailing from the Chicago area, he is one of the best fashion photographers in the nation. He was one of the first to photograph the beautiful Cindy Crawford, and also worked in Italy under Franca Sozzani. Now living in Los Angeles, he has worked with Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, and Halle Barry to name a few.
Joe McNally: Now based out of New York City and master shot taker who has worked for National Geographic, he also raised $2 million from a book project with Life for post 9/11 effort and relief outreach. His cover stories for Sports Illustrated are major achievements in modern photography to say the very least.
http://portfolio.joemcnally.com
Steven Meisel: This world famous photographer became popular for his work in Italian Vogue and shot Madonna gratuitously in the 1992 print feature book “Sex”. Using publications like Harper’s Bazaar for his main influence, he has also had one of his photos used for Mariah Carey’s album cover “Daydream”.
Loren Cameron: Known for his extreme activism in the transgender realm, one of his main objectives was to make that whole scene less of a mystery for the general public, with massive success while he was at it. A staple of the San Francisco scene and a great public speaker as well, he has a great feature about him in the iconic New Yorker.
http://www.lorencameron.com/home.html
Printers:
RR Donnelley: With Corporate headquarters in Chicago, they merged in 2004 with Moore Wallace, Inc., and purchased Office Tiger in 2007. Their “Lakeside Classics”, made available only to employees, have since been in high demand.
Quad Graphics: From Sussex, Wisconsin, this company has 39 locations in the US, and also some in Europe, Canada, and South America. They print large names such as “Sports Illustrated”, “People” and “Time”. With around 4 billion in revenue, they have remained a heavy hitter for years.
Valassis: One of the largest coupon distributors on the planet, they have around 7,000 employees in 9 nations and 28 states. They specialize in shared mail, neighborhood targeted, free standing inserts, as well as the newer digital media division.
Cenveo: a $1.9 billion company from Connecticut, their specialties are printed labels, digital print and packaging, mailing solutions, and the ever important creative service envelope. Originally derived from Denver’s Rockmount Envelope, they purchased the assets of longtime competitor National Envelope Corporation last year.
Transcontinental Printing: Based in Montreal and also operating in the States, Transcontinental Printing has media print property of “Canadian Living”, “Les Affaires”, “Elle Quebec”, and “Elle Canada”. A large distributor of the coveted door to door market and also provides custom email solutions + lists.
Deluxe Corp: One of the largest check printers in the nation, a viable go to for small businesses, financial institutions, and all types of other consumers in the trenches. Fraud protection and ultimate in promotional packages are also one of their fine services in a wealth of features that credit unions prefer; as well as a high end check delivering service.
https://ww.deluxe.com/small-business/printing/services
Vistaprint: widely known in some polls as the 4th fasting growing printing company in America, with a Massachusetts satellite providing support to a Netherlands main office. A true specialty in printing extra large jobs and glossy business cards, they were founded in Paris and whisked away to the States to survive healthily after the burst of the dot-com bubble.
Consolidated Graphics: Creators of an excellent leadership program for recent college grads, They are a Houston, TX based outfit in which companies underneath them operate independently. This allows them to have more power to ultimately purchase, and they also developed the WorkSmart Suite collection for professionals to use for all sorts of necessary desktop tasks.
Multi Color Corp: this global giant that offers digital, pre-press and packaging services is based in Ohio and continues to offer its large base of output to numerous satisfied clients.
DST Output Systems: An Eldorado Hills based company that has since branched out to healthcare solutions and utilities companies; it offers Address Direct, which provides reduced cost for delivery and heightened efficiency. Recently signing a hefty contract with Charles Schwab, they won’t be going anywhere soon.
http://dstsystems.com/solutions/customer-communications
Standard Register: from Dayton, Ohio comes this full service printing conglomerate who formally introduced in-mold labeling techniques to the public. Recently acquiring the Grafilm product line, they also recently purchased WorkFlowOne, a marketing/comm competitor.
https://www.facebook.com/StandardRegister
Ennis, Inc.: This company was started over a century ago as a lone wolf print shop in the Lone Star State. Commercial print supplies, financial documents and services, and even apparel are products of this innovative and long standing foothold in the business. They have been named a few times over as a top supplier by the Print Services and Distribution Association to boot.
WS Packaging: Currently offering a wide variety of printing and packing options, they specialize in reaching out to very high volume needs and even the gaming market. They successfully deal with wine and spirit, industrial, tobacco, and over the counter healthcare products just for starters.
Brown Printing: in 1957 in the state of great lakes, Wayne Brown started printing catalogues, auction bills, and other goods. Soon they were recognized to be healthy enough for purchase by Bemis Corporation In Minneapolis, and have since been bought by Germany’s largest magazine publisher. They also launched a logistics unit that provides one stop services for all types of companies, and are the 5th largest catalogue printer in the nation.
Sir Speedy: A well known printing outfit out of Mission Viejo, California, they are still an amazingly heavy presence with over 600 franchise locations in 13 global nations. Known for years as one of THE go to locations for small to mid size business owners, they will hold recognizable market share for some time in the future.
Allegra Network: A great choice for marketing, printing, signs, posters, and just about anything else a business owner could conceive, Allegra is literally one of the world’s largest business to business franchises, period. Their environmental graphic services are becoming more and more widely known, and they are known for exceptional tech support.
Alphagraphics: Born and bred from the beautiful and mountainous location of Salt Lake, this locally owned center provides direct mail campaigns, marketing services for the digitally hungry, and is one of the USA’s true good franchise opportunities for those wanting to branch out on their own. An increasingly popular place for customers to get keepsakes like yearbooks, they are upping the ante in their own domain constantly.
The Sheridan Group: Print, electronic content, production tools and distribution are all included in the array of services offered along with the popular Dartmouth Journal Services. Embracing their mantra that it’s exciting time to be in publishing, they service many happy clients across the globe.
http://www.sheridan.com/about-us
Trend Offset Publishing: Quality heat-set and cold-set printings are their specialties, and this company is also experts in bindery, stitching, and inkjetting. They believe the difference is in the details, and have been winning customers over one by one for many decades now.
Courier Corp: A prime leader in textbook manufacturing, value priced extraordinary content, religious and trade show materials, they really help clients get the most life out of their publication. Also a big help in the realm of self publication, they provide help at every juncture in the road for authors.