Margo Chase

I really enjoyed this first video series on Margo Chase, particularly that she sort of stumbled her way into graphic design for the music industry with Warner Brothers. I am a musician myself so the combination of the two worlds is an exciting prospect for me. I like that she has her own archive of graphic design history and inspiration in the office, and that the workspace itself is conducive to open and creative thinking. 

What really struck a chord for me was one of the reasons that she decided to leave Warner Brothers, which was that graphic designers were not part of the marketing conversation. The concept she delivers about graphic design solving for business problems is spot on. What has driven me to pursue and understand graphic design is my interest in communication, and I believe that graphic design, communication, and marketing go hand-in-hand; you can't have one without the other. To further this argument, the segment that included her marketing partner emphasized the necessity of expressing an understanding of the problem in order to communicate the solution. This understanding then transposes to the design concept, branding, marketing, and so on. Their insight into this process was really valuable, including starting points: what is the consumer thinking?; aspirations of the brand and consumer; creating a persona; creating a brand theme board. 

Lastly, it was interesting to me that she won a Grammy for the Cher limited edition package, and that she designed the album cover for Madonna's Like a Prayer (the only Madonna album on my Spotify). Her aesthetic drove pop culture for the time, and I think it's fascinating for graphic design work to be a part of that.