Span (design firm)

Last updated
Span
Company typeLLC
Industry Design
Founded2020;4 years ago (2020) in Chicago, Illinois
FoundersJohn Pobojewski, Bud Rodecker
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois
Key people
  • Bud Rodecker (Founding Partner)
  • John Pobojewski (Founding Partner)
  • Nick Adam (Associate Partner)
Website span.studio

Span is an American multidisciplinary studio in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in identity design, branding, exhibition design, environmental graphics, motion graphics, interactive design, and publications. [1] [2] It was founded in 2020 by Bud Rodecker and John Pobojewski who both worked at the design studio Thirst with Rick Valicenti. [3] In 2023, Nick Adam became Associate Partner. [4]

Contents

Notable projects

In 2024, Span led the rebranding of one of Chicago's oldest institutions, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. [5] The studio used the prairie as a key design inspiration [6]

The rebrand of the invasive species of carps—which were widely referred to as Asian carp—as Copi, [7] along with the tagline “Eat Well. Do Good.” [8] The Copi renaming is a part of a Federal and state initiative to get the public to eat the invasive fish, [9] decrease its numbers in Midwestern waterways, [10] and prevent its introduction to the Great Lakes. [11]

The identity and brand identity system for Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority (Illinois). [12]

The short 3D animation/motion graphics films called Urban Sequoia -- about buildings that absorb carbon--which premiered at the UN Climate Change Conferences in 2021 and 2022. [13]

The exhibition graphics for Design and Healing: Creative Responses to Epidemics at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. [14] [15]

The rebrand of and brand identity for New York state’s Nazareth University. [16]

The identity for Bronzeville, Chicago’s new public park, the South Side Sanctuary. [17]

Co-producing with Manual Cinema the puppetry + digital animation film, Countdown. [18]

Designing Slow & Low, a retrospective book of Chicago’s Lowrider community. [19]

Awards

Identities designed

Further reading

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Chicago Graphic Design Club January, 2022
  2. Span site
  3. Thirst announcement, Dec. 2019
  4. Nick Adam Is Associate Partner/Design Director At Span Graphic Design USA May, 2023
  5. Jay, Corli (25 April 2024). "The Nature Museum gets a brand makeover — its first in 20 years". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. Bamford, Abbey (20 May 2024). "Span takes influence from Illinois's native prairies for Chicago's Nature Museum brand". Creative Boom. Creative Boom. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. To Hook American Diners an Invasive Species of Carp Gets a New Name, The Economist, June, 2022
  8. America's Least Favourite Fish Gets a Rebrand, Creative Review, June 2022
  9. Can rebranding invasive carp make it more appealing to eat, Smithsonian, June 2022"
  10. From Carp to Copi, Unpopular fish gets a makeover, "U.S. News & World Report, June 2022"
  11. "From ‘carp’ to ‘copi’: unpopular fish getting a makeover", apnews.com, June 22, 2022.]
  12. New Logo and Identity for Chicago's RTA by Span, Brand New, December, 2022
  13. Carbon neutral, Design Indaba, November, 2022
  14. CooperHewitt.org
  15. Epidemics - A Force for Life-Changing Innovation, New York Times, December, 2021
  16. The Invasive Branding of Nazareth University, The Daily Heller / Print Magazine, August, 2023
  17. Custom Type Anchors a Vibrant Identity for Chicago’s Newest Public Park, Print magazine, August, 2024
  18. Span studio website
  19. A new book by Span pays homage to lowrider culture, April, 2024
  20. Anthem Awards site
  21. AIGA 365 site
  22. STA 100 site