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MITCHELL MAUK Mitchell Mauk is Principal of Mauk Design, which he founded in 1986. His philosophy is that ultimately, an environment or exhibit needs to tell a story. The space and its architectural features, as well as audio visual interactivity, etc. create a dimensional narrative that should express a client’s mission and vision and the attributes of its innovative products. Our job is to create a vibrant sensory experience that makes that story clear, compelling and meaningful. To this assignment, Mauk Design brings its expertise in both two- and three-dimensional design to deliver a design program that realizes our dictum: “Fill the mind; not the space.” Mauk Design is guided by the conviction that design is a powerful tool of communication and influence; a strategic asset that directly serves the objectives of our clients. We also believe that effective design rests upon an in-depth understanding of our clients’ business needs. Our most important task is to communicate to your customers who you are, what you do and what makes you unique.
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McDONALD’S WORLD WIDE CONVENTION As Mauk Design’s largest project yet, the McDonald’s World Wide Convention brought on a major opportunity to assist with multiple aspects of the franchisee show. Beginning with the 750.000 sq.ft. floor plan layout, the designers were also responsible for all the common areas, including the branding of two main lobbies, eating areas, a large center stage, meeting places and bus signs, along with many large corporate exhibits.
Restaurant facades from three areas of the world. 6
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FLOOR PLAN DESIGN
Final floor plan design for Orlando Convention Center.
Preliminary floor plan designs. 8
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Fundamental to the McDonald’s brand is the concept of building your restaurant employees, an idea that becomes the central inspiration to the People exhibit. Attendees first encounter the wall of spinning employee photographs, and then enter into a theater presentation through the people portal. Two branches of display cases curve around a central space to create a glowing ring of information. At the center of this area sits a crew lounge prototype, as well as meeting places and portals for additional presentations.
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The Future’s exhibit symbolically marked the end of the shows’ major axis, as its vdominating presence attracted Owners and Operators to learn about the future of the brand. Mauk Design took advantage of the prime location with an 18’ project screen lens framed by three silver ovals, a very dramatic statement about the vision of future. Contents of the exhibit include a full size restaurant and kitchen, physical models of restaurant layouts and renovation options, as well as an array of recently released equipment.
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The Place and Promotion exhibit is comprised of five distinct areas that function together to tell a story. A layered cut-out letter wall reveals glimpses of the booths’ contents to attendees, while dramatic walls divide the rest of the spaces inside.
Areas include an entrance theatre with a sound
and light show, Areas of the World studios for selection of new restaurant designs designated by region, a retail experience quiz game, an area to promote digital use of modern social networking media, and the family experience area to familiarize franchisees with all McDonald’s has to offer families and children.
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The Operations Excellence exhibit was inspired by the use of fluorescent yellow highlighters to mark up documents. The arrow also becomes symbolic in measuring changes of company operations. Printed graph paper carpet is used under the restaurant portion of the exhibit to show the future planning of the kitchens in McDonald’s restaurants.
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M c D O N A L D ’ S I N N O VAT I O N P O R TA L The challenge of the Innovation Exhibit was to excite and entice McDonald’s franchise owners to see the McDonald’s Innovation Exhibit.
The mandate was to create a portal wall that would only hint at the future to come,
without use of the golden arches or McDonald’s name. Inspired by mylar skins of high altitude balloons, the 95’ portal wall consisted of 1,500 feet of mylar film, which came in a box the size of a large suitcase. As a result of the intriguing design, the exhibit was attended by 85% of the attendees and was ranked as the most memorable in the show.
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ACORDA THERAPEUTICS At The American Academy of Neurology, Acorda Therapeutics showcased this exhibit for the introduction of the Multiple Sclerosis drug Ampyra to the neurological community. Ampyra is shown to improve walking speed in MS patients. A game area on the corner served to draw attendees in, while 5’ square multi-touch screens provided complete drug information.
While participating in the timed 25’ Walk through the center of the exhibit, health care
professionals matched the moving video footprints to experience the significant improvement in walking made by a slight improvement in walking speed. Motion graphics for the walk appeared on seamless plasma screens.
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Exhibitor D E S IG N AWA R D
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EXHIBIT FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY C O M PA N Y Designed for a company that discovers, develops and delivers innovative human therapeutics, this exhibit was intended to educate health care professionals on the roles of specific receptors in chronic disease. As a disease state exhibit, its purpose was to communicate the process of the disease for educational purposes. Attendees entered into a clinical looking cube, and were transported into an infinite body occupied by floating cells, molecules and receptors. This provided an experience of entering the human body to view the ongoing cellular processes that characterize the disease. Inspired by state of the art science museums, the cube shape utilized every square inch of the 400 square-foot space.
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HEIDELBERG ENGINEERING Heidelberg Engineering asked Mauk Design to capture the attention of neurologists from all over the show floor by gathering inspiration from the primary subject of their corporate research, the human eye. To contrast with the majority of white healthcare exhibits, black is used as a background for the bright color projections.
Heidelberg Engineering is a company based in Germany that makes optical products
to track the development of Multiple Sclerosis. The exhibit includes eight floating lenses made of inflated vinyl. Six projectors focus on the lenses to create moving images that reveal disease progression on the back of the retina. Glowing frosted plexiglass fences guard the product displays while grounding the rest of the booth. The lenses are constructed with an extruded aluminum frame which holds three disparate layers of materials; vinyl, rear projection material, and another layer of vinyl.
The exhibit effectively communicated the core messaging in a unique and visually
impactful way, which helped to nearly double the prior year’s number of leads.
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APPLE COMPUTER Apple Computer’s indestructible corporate exhibit had racked up high setup and high tear-down costs as well as expensive, cumbersome freight and drayage logistics. After six years of nonstop use, the exhibit had become over messaged and the company needed to reduce costs. It also sought an updated image to reflect the company’s changing objectives and to achieve a more commanding show presence. Before
Apple engaged Mauk Design to reinvent the exhibit,
taking an tired exhibit and transforming it. By using most of the primary system components, Apple recycled existing parts in its redesigned booth while adding an additional five years of booth life.
After
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D silv e r
SOLA OPTICAL When eyeglass lens manufacturers Sola launched a new optical coating for lenses using Teflon at the Vision Expo West trade fair, Mauk Design was asked to create a striking exhibit to attract attendees. An 18 meter long vinyl model of the Teflon molecule drew attention from across the show floor to celebrate Teflon’s contribution to the optical industry.
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NASA EXHIBIT Celebrating 50 years of peaceful space exploration at the 62nd International Astronomical Congress in Capetown, the NASA theater revealed specific glimpses into the extraordinary accomplishments of space flight.
Two major voids sliced through the white NASA cubes and were filled with large
space images. The general form was inspired by the standard aerospace buildings, which are where these space craft are created. Graphics emphasized the scale of discovery, and cutouts featured NASA’s greatest hits: Mars Rover, Hubble Telescope, Saturn, International Space Station and more. Space mission posters were displayed inside, and a massive close-up of the moon on the outside wall called attention to an actual moon rock sample.
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Exhibitor M AG A ZI N E B E ST O F S H OW
V O L K S WA G E N E X H I B I T Our idea was to go beyond kicking the tires by adding another level of fun and intelligence to
Exhibitor M AG A ZI N E BEST EXHIBIT OF LAST 20 YEARS
the exhibit without adding more dollars. The exhibit used low tech interactive displays, simple video, clean shapes and straight forward finishes to accomplish an elegant yet fun experience.
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The exhibit reused a great deal of existing material, emphasized the engineering
quality of the German company, while also keeping the cost low. Using a more restrained color palette for the exhibit allowed the color of the cars to shine.
AIGA WINNER
To highlight the variety of car color options, bowling balls were painted and mounted
on bearings which allowed them to be spun. These hung above the selection of fabrics, where attendees were invited to slide fabric samples along the rail to match the exterior paint colors. COMMUNICATION ARTS WINNER
A wall covered in personalized rear-view mirrors brings humor to the show floor. Lifestyle hardware filled the exhibit with hopes to appeal to a youth market, a key example being the
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displays of factory wheels which sit on blue skateboard wheels.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D gol d
D U N C A N AV I AT I O N Corporate jets are precious objects in many senses: what they carry is valuable, and they are complex and costly to service and operate. Employees at Duncan Aviation are specialists in maintaining business aircraft, work that must be done skillfully by very rigid deadlines.
As a company that has worked with Mauk Design from the very beginning 25 years
ago, Duncan Aviation has provided the design team opportunities to create exhibits, branding, collateral and packaging. Mauk’s success with Duncan is very much about making simple ideas work: ideas like confidence, people skills, and time management. The depth of understanding between client and designer has made it possible to express these ideas in a highly original formal language, one which communicates well in it’s context.
The first exhibit done by Mauk Design for Duncan Aviation contained a photo gallery
of hand-tinted black and white photographs of Duncan employees. Each employee signed the dominating black airfoil pylon, which created a sense of verticality in the exhibit.
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Exhibitor MAG A Z I N E go ld AWAR D
D U N C A N AV I AT I O N As the second exhibit designed by Mauk Design, it became very important that the booth highlighted the talents of the staff and their expertise in time management. The design consisted of an entrance portal, shaped like a vertical aerofoil, and a conference enclosure behind.
The entrance portal was covered in portrait photographs of every
Duncan employee, and the conference enclosure with a series of clocks. The employee portraits were a great success. For the first time some aircraft owners and managers could see who their Duncan contact was, which succeeded in making the company human to its clients.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D gol d
D U N C A N AV I AT I O N In an effort to design an exhibit that would stand out amongst multi-million dollar jets while also emphasizing the people of Duncan Aviation, Mauk Design rose to the challenge and created something dramatically different than the rest of the show.
Aircraft service is by and large a function of many hours of work by highly skilled
employees. The third Duncan Aviation exhibit by Mauk Design sits under a dramatic canopy of 5” x 7” portraits, each a different photograph of Duncan’s 2,200 employees. This reflects the values of Duncan, as it is all about putting the people who work on the aircraft front and center. A glass and stainless sculpture in the middle of the exhibit drew attention to the logo, which has become instantly identifiable in their industry.
The main desk was crafted by Duncan’s cabinet shop and speaks to their level of
fabrication excellence used in the jet interiors. The wall standing behind the desk uses a pattern from the actual map of aircraft flight corridors over the US.
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AT&T E X H I B I T P R O G R A M The challenge of the AT&T Exhibit was to create a functional and flexible system to last a minimum of five years in the constantly evolving field of technology. Without appearing modular, the design had to work well in multiple configurations while successfully adapting to upcoming products and future uses.
The main focus became the “Super Kiosk” which could be arranged to be used as a
demo station, a presentation area or a video wall. Both the client and design team wanted to occupy a minimal carbon footprint with the exhibit. Aspects that contribute to lowering the carbon footprint include the use of LED lighting, recycled steel, partially recycled fabric, and environmental laminate.
All signage is video screen based which eliminates use of printed signs to be discarded
after each show. Overhead space is defined by a bright “Network of Possibilities” sphere, which contains internal animated LED lights that attract attendees from across the hall.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D br on z e
O . C . TA N N E R A company known for their employee recognition programs, O.C. Tanner needed an exhibit that would simply delight.
The entire booth was a series of moving icons that rocked back and forth, spun, popped
up and down, and rotated. This movement was a metaphor for the way a well motivated workforce works together. During the presentation, the speaker described what happens if your employees are not motivated, throwing a large blade switch (think Frankenstein creation), causing the entire moving exhibit to stop dead. Over the course of the few days of exhibiting, the company collected 2,200 leads, which was a 37-percent jump from previous counts.
“I have had so many positive comments about the design since we unveiled our new brand in Chicago. When I traveled to other Human Resource shows this fall I heard fond remembrances of those HR folks who were in Chicago and came to our booth. They consistently said it was a remarkable design. So Mitchell you have a lot to be proud of with your design efforts.�
Cordell Clinger Convention Manager O.C.Tanner
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Sunbursts spin...
people grow...
hands clap.
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SEGD AWARD
ADOBE HEADQUARTERS Adobe is one of the world’s largest software companies, and although its headquarters building is architecturally distinguished, it had little of Adobe’s visual DNA. Mauk was asked to bring Adobe’s brand to life in the main entrance space. The mural is simply the color swatch palette from Adobe Illustrator, enlarged to 20 by 25 feet. Like a stained glass window in a cathedral to technology, the mural spreads a pattern of coloured light over the entrance hall interior by day, and is illuminated from behind at night. It becomes a gentle and elegant reminder that the company’s products bring creativity into people’s lives.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D gol d
INTEL RUNNING MAN EXHIBIT Siggraph is all about speed and performance, and Intel needed a highly visible presence in this
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highly visual event. One of the teams first tasks was to do away with ‘the neutral image Intel had presented in the past,’ Mauk says, ‘instead, speed became a marketing objective.’
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The ten 20-foot high ‘polygon people,’ five male and five female, shown accelerating
around the exhibit were based on studies by Eadweard Muybridge, who is known as the pioneer in using photography to study motion.
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One-hundred-two polygon person accelerating to sprint.
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P L AY S TAT I O N E X H I B I T For the PlayStation exhibit at the E3 electronic games show, the original concept model (right)
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is made from a single piece of cardboard. Appearing as a fantasy structure that attendees would imagine to find in a video game, the final construction of the exhibit reflects the same
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simplicity and ideas of the first conceptual model.
Conference rooms promise something more than a meeting.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D
P L AY S TAT I O N E X H I B I T The faceted design of this Playstation exhibit is based on Japanese origami and robots. The
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triangular fabric planes interconnect with the inflated spherical theatre, which was the first of it’s kind to be used in an exhibit. It had an inner balloon of rear projection screen, and a clear
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vinyl outer balloon. Inside were five massive rear projectors cooled by liquid nitrogen.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D gol d
C E R A M I C T I L E S O F I T A LY For a small display with the AIA in Denver, red fabric banners hung like tapering pyramids. Underneath these, red boxes highlighted individual tile collections and helped to frame a video screen presentation area. Because tiles are very small objects by themselves, Mauk Design realized the importance of focusing the attendee’s attention to each tile. The formal architectural language of the exhibit was inspired by dramatic Roman architecture, and the bright red embodies the color of Italy.
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MARBLE REGIONS OF I T A LY E X H I B I T
EXIBITOR DESIGN AWARD GOlD
The challenge for the Italian Trade Commission Marble Center was to attract the attention of architects, ensuring that they would fall in love with the material. Attention was focused on the marble by laying out 80 distinct samples in the shape of a nautilus shell, following the Fibonacci spiral. Samples floated on a nearly-invisible steel frame that rose slowly from knee level to eye-level.
The spiral path led architects to the center of the
spiral, stopping to gaze at the beautiful marbles and then retraced their steps back out, reinforcing the experience. Because the marble was treated in a jewel-like manner, the 30’ x 40’ exhibit weighed less than 2,500 pounds.
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HERMAN MILLER NeoCON SHOWROOM Herman Miller asked Mauk Design to create a showroom for their new BE collection of personal office accessories. The challenge was to ensure architects and designers would notice these small accessories, and understand their stories. Shear white fabric walls were rear illuminated to contrast with the rectilinear forms used in most furniture systems.
One of the main displays of the exhibit are the C2 Personal Climate Control units,
which are placed in front of a thermochromic film that visually shows the temperature changes by the products. After the show, most of the showroom was shipped to be reused in other showrooms.
Color, Material and Fabric Display
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Thermochromic Film
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101 SURFSPORTS Mauk Design has a history of branding many companies from their origination, but the 101 Surfsports Shop in San Rafael presented an opportunity to design all aspects of the store, from logo to interior, to vehicles.
Taking an environmentally friendly stance for a store that is all about enjoying
nature through water sports, the use of cardboard tubes became a metaphor for the ocean. A wall of circles with different diameters represents bubbles, and walls of long horizontal tubes to support boards that symbolize waves. The store is designed to show off the bold colors of the products, keeping to a gray scale scheme for everything except the cardboard tubes, which are painted in four bold colors across the store.
101 Surfsports logo is a simplified version of the highway sign that leads
customers from the store to the best surf spots of Northern California. The top of the logo forms a scene of waves.
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Exhibitor DESIGN AWA R D
R O C K S H OX In the exhibit for Interbike, the product is placed in a metaphorical mountain valley, where bike fork shocks run over rocks (mounted on a conveyer belt) using real motion to attract the crowds. Elsewhere, transparent bikes were used so that the forks and seatposts would be simply but clearly emphasized. Each of the four corner pyramids holds conference spaces and storage for the booth.
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Exhibitor magaz i ne best of show
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REYNOLDS COMPOSITES
Reynolds Composites manufactures carbon fiber bicycle wheels, tubing and bike components. To stand out at the Interbike show, Mauk design made an exhibit that was as simple as possible.
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To save money, the client built the back wall frame out of leftover carbon fiber tubing. One person could lift this 38’ x 16’ wall.
Wheel sets were the only products displayed and they all rotated on their displays,
bringing an element of motion to a product that is all about motion. The result was a display that spoke to the soul of a bicyclist as well as bringing a certain amount of poetry to a macho product.
“A clear powerful statement of our product and its application that changed the perception of Reynold’s Cycling in the eyes of our competitors, our customers and even our employees forever. Mauk’s vision is genius.”
Cort Larned CEO, Reynold Composites
Wheels rotated in their display, while being easily removable.
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The carbon fiber backwall frame.
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M A G N E T O B A C K WA L L
Designed as a prototype to replace typical pop-up back walls of 10’x10’ exhibits, Mauk Design worked through a series of physical models to discover the most elegant and functional composition possible. Inspired by the internal lattice of the human bone, the design has maximum strength with minimum mass. It is produced out of
1/4” milled polypropylene
sheets with live hinges and embedded Neodymiun magnets to allow for assembly of the modular parts.
The Magneto wall is extremely durable, as the material is made from recycled milk
bottles. At the end of it’s service life, the wall becomes 100% recyclable. Easy enough to be assembled by a single person, the photographs below show how lightweight each piece is, as well as how simple it is to construct.
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I want you to know that the team did another exceptional job in the execution of the exhibit. The new property was a hit…and was fresh
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to again commend Duncan
representation for Apple, standout at the show, and a hit with the
Aviation on one of the best booth designs at National Business
audience. I heard positive comments from every turn.
Aircraft Association show. Warren E. Boin, Jr.
Thanks to the entire team. This was a big one, with many new
Senior Vice President
wrinkles and twists. Well staged, and well done at a time when the
Signature Flight Support
spotlight was “ on” Apple for #1. Marva Whalen Apple Event Marketing Department
On behalf of the Sony Corporation, I’d like to extend our great appreciation and sincere thanks to you and the members of the Mauk Design team for helping make the show such a success for Sony. The booth is AWESOME! I’d say it’s the best/most original one on This project was undertaken on very short notice and was complicated by the requirement to work with various Sony divisions spread across two continents. You rose to the occasion brilliantly and
the floor. The white just stands out. Great job, marketing, design, and Mauk! Samir Arora
demonstrated fast turnaround on our requirements. The attendees’
CEO
positive response to our exhibit was evidenced by the fact that the
Netobjects
exhibit was always packed with enthusiastic crowds.
My team greatly enjoyed working with you. Once again, thank you for your hard work, dedication, and creativity. You demonstrated the spirit of Sony.
WOW!!!!! You guys did a phenomenal job on CES. In terms of our goals, you met and exceeded all three of them. The amount of broadcast coverage for this CES was the most we have ever had at
Dick Komiyama
this event and much more positive than anything before. Our booth
President
did such good job of pulling it together that we made it easy for
Information Technologies of America Sony Electronics
reporters to understand, so it was the focus of a lot of coverage.
…In terms of bringing it all together, you only had to walk the floor to see no one else came close. All the MS people that stopped by, Thank you so much for all your wonderful support on the PlayStation E3 exhibit. I honestly would have perished or been placed in jail
including execs that haven’t been part of this process, were truly impressed.
without your help… …in all my years at MS, I’ve never worked with a team that did so Peggy Noonan Marketing Manager Sony Computer Entertainment America
much in such a short time with good cooperation and outstanding results. I’m honored to have been part of this. Thank you! Amy Fritsche Microsoft
Just a small note of my appreciation of you and your team’s efforts on SIGGRAPH. The show was a fabulous success for Intel! I hope to work with Mauk Design again. Thank you!
Congratulations again on another fantastic exhibit for Duncan Aviation! I am very pleased with the results.
Victor Torregroza Intel Event Program Manager
Robert Duncan Chairman of the Board Duncan Aviation
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CLIENTS Acorda Therapeutics Adobe Systems AIGA American President Lines Apple Artemide Assopiastrelle AT&T Boulder Associates Carl Zeiss Vision Charles Schwab Cisco Systems Delta Radiology De Puy Spine Duncan Aviation Evans & Sutherland Fair Isaac Foote, Cone & Belding Giro Sport Design Heidelberg Engineering
Herman Miller HP HOK Intel Italian Trade Commission Kenwood Group Koei/Tecmo Lam Research Levi Strauss & Co. Lucas Arts McDonald’s Metropolis Magazine Meyer Sound Microsoft M.I.T. Moss Structures NASA Nellcor NHS O.C. Tanner
Oracle OralB PG&E PhonicEar Pixar Rainbow Media Reynolds Composites Rock Shox SOLA Optical Sony Electronics Sony Computer Entertainment Sun Microsystems Taubman Companies Texas Instruments Trimble Navigation Viking Office Products Volkswagen of America Walt Disney World 101 Surfsports 24 Hour Fitness
RECOGNITION Exhibitor Magazine, Exhibit Designer of the Year 1987
Art Directors Club of Los Angeles: 1985, 1987 (Gold), 1988, 1989
Exhibitor Magazine Design Awards: 1998, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 (2 Gold), 1996, 1997 (Gold), Best of Show 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
American Institute of Graphic Arts: 1983, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2004
Industrial Design Society of America: IDEA Gold Award & Silver Award 1995, 1996, IDEA Silver 1997 Society of Environmental Graphics: SEGD Award 1992, 1995, 2004
Typography 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16 ID Magazine Design Review: 1986, 1987, 1988 (Best of Category), 1989, 1996 Mead Annual Report Show: 1983 Graphics Packaging Annual: 1988, 1995 American Corporate Identity: 5, 6, 7
Business Marketing Association: 2004 Pro-Comm Best of Division N.Y. Art Directors Club: Silver Medal 1995 Society of Typographic Arts: STA 100 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988
Permanent Collection of the Library of Congress Communication Arts: 1983, 1987, 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
PUBLICATIONS: California Graphic Design San Francisco Graphic Designers Book Business Week Identity Magazine Interiors Magazine Progressive Architecture Architectural Record Design Magazine/England Creative Review/England AXIS/Trends on Design/ Japan Exhibitor Magazine Exhibit Design News Communication Arts LECTURES: The Exhibitor Show Gravity Free Conference California College of Arts Instructor- Advanced Typography C.E.M.A./ Speaker Utah State University Event Design Magazine Conf. Western Washington University
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