PROFILE By John O. Faherty
Function first For DAAP’s Gjoko Muratovski, the goal isn’t here is a lemon squeezer on a shelf behind to follow Tthe desk of the director of the School of Design – the “D” in DAAP, the University of industry, Cincinnati’s School of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. It looks like a rocket landed on Earth to squeeze a single lemon. but The Philippe Starck squeezer was designed on a napkin over lunch on the Amalfi Coast more than 25 years ago. It is 12 inches tall, made of polished aluminum, and one sits rightfully in the Museum of Modern Art. It is that stunning. It is also not good at the one thing it was designed to do. It makes a terrific mess, the juice goes where it is not supposed to, and there is not much of it. Asked why it is in his office and not his kitchen, Gjoko Muratovski said nobody in his right mind would ever squeeze a lemon with it. Gjoko is a practical man and keeps the Starck Squeezer with a splash of irony because when he brings it to the classroom it is an example of the push and pull between art and design. At DAAP, and the Design School in particular, function comes first. “Design does not exist for itself, for the sake of the design,” Gjoko said. “Design is applied, it is not self-expression. Unless it serves its purpose, it is useless.”
Influences pervade our culture This practicality may be why the Myron E. Ullman Jr. School of Design is both well known and underappreciated. It is everywhere you look but rarely recognized. The famous logo on every FedEx truck, the one with the arrow designed between the “E” and the “x,” that’s by a Design School graduate. The Apple Watch that might be sitting on your wrist, that’s the work of a graduate. More Procter & Gamble products than you can count, the NASA logo, the Absolut Vodka bottle, the Nike shoes on your feet, the first Apple mouse. Yep, all of them. And the list does not stop. The Screaming Eagle, the one on the hood of the Trans Am, that was the work of Stu Schuster, Class 12
MARCH 2020
Movers & Makers
to lead Photo by Tina Gutierrez
of 1962. Burt Reynolds loved it. So four years ago, when the school needed a new director, it was going to be a difficult search. The person had to be good at design, of course. He or she had to love students and philosophy. He or she had to be willing to push the school forward, but there was one thing that mattered as much as all of that. The next director needed to be able to tell the school’s story. To scream it from the mountaintop if necessary. Gjoko came to DAAP as the very definition of “global perspective.” He was working in New Zealand when the school approached him. Before that, Australia. Before that, Asia and Europe. Gjoko (pronounced Joe-Ko) Muratovski (pronounced, oddly, just as it is spelled) is a native Macedonian who has lived, worked, and been educated in 11 countries. One of the first things he noticed upon moving to Clifton, with his wife and daughter, was that people in Cincinnati think DAAP is “nice.” Across the world, it is considered amazing. “People here take this school for granted sometimes, and part of the reason for that is in our history,” he said. “We are very Midwestern, a quiet achiever. But in truth, the school is a powerhouse. An icon.” The icon turned 150 years old last year, and that past was celebrated. Gjoko now will look at the school’s past to set up its future. “I am a steward of a legacy. I want to future-proof it. To translate who we are today into who we are next.” And then he paused and smiled. “I am a designer first. As a director, I am trying to design a school of design.”
The legacy of this school is amazing. The alumni of this school have designed America. There is not an industry that remains untouched by this school. –Gjoko Muratovski
‘Unbelievable energy’ Jay Chatterjee is certain Gjoko is the right person for the job, and Chatterjee knows a bit about how to run a school. He was the dean of DAAP for 20 years during a time of remarkable growth and success. “The first thing that comes to mind about Gjoko is an unbelievable energy,” Chatterjee said. “Also, he thinks globally. He is so networked in. He knows the world.” Chatterjee specifically mentioned Gjoko’s confidence, his fearlessness, and his vision. “He is very focused, very innovative. It is always about the school, and not him.” Gjoko has an intense gaze, a shaved head and a perfectly fitted suit. He walks the halls of the
