News.

In addition to the new international offices, RSM Design is also introducing its already established Arizona office. As the director of the Arizona Office, as well as, a senior designer at RSM Design Christy Montgomery brings eight years of experience to the table with a focus on branding and concept development. In addition to her design work with architectural graphics and signage, she puts her social science background to work connecting the dots from our clients to their end users. Her design methodology uses both data-driven analysis and creative thinking to build brands, brand narratives, and more meaningful connections.

Her work streamlines the process from vision to schematics, through sketching, drafting, analytics, design and research skills. She has worked on a broad range of commercial and non-profit projects for domestic and international clients with a focus on applications for the built environment.

Her dedication to placemaking spans from the whimsical to the practical. She is quick to adapt to new challenges and is working closely with RSM on the development of new tools for clients that blends “clicks and bricks.” She deeply believes that experience has the power to create memories, alter behaviors and enrich the daily lives of our communities. She is driven by a passion for “experience design” that continues to push the boundaries and definition of environmental graphics design.

Christy has worked with property development teams at Shea Properties and Shea Homes on two large mixed-use base realignment projects that imagine entire communities from naming and logo design to the details of a historically-inspired park. She has designed standard manuals for California college campuses, technology parks and library systems. Her solutions are as varied as the project she works on and her inner librarian is committed to finding the perfect match between client goals and the target audience.

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Working with the City of Southlake, Texas and coordinating with TexDOT standards, full size mock-ups were created for onsite review. Using digital prints on plywood to confirm the scale of messages and signs, the team went through the area to find the best locations for each sign to ensure visibility and clarity. The mock-ups brought together the community and council members collective vision for the city’s branded wayfinding.

Make sure to check out our other post “City of Southlake Selects RSM Design” to see the initial concepts of the city signage package and check back soon for more updates.

Suzanne Redmond Schwartz, founding partner, directs and manages the RSM Design team and is actively involved in every step of the graphic design process. Suzanne’s creativity, design skills and strategic business background have been instrumental in bringing the Studio to the forefront of the graphic design industry.

Prior to RSM Design, Suzanne was the director of a large graphic design firm for fourteen years. Her projects focused on the retail and hospitality industries, and ranged from multi-use signage packages to imaging and logo design.Her award-winning work has been featured in a variety of trade journals, including ID Magazine. She’s a member of the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD) and heads up a design committee for the Downtown Business Association for San Clemente.

RSM Design has been a female-owned business enterprise since its founding in 1997 by Suzanne Redmond Schwartz. The WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Certification) is one of the most widely recognized and respected certifications in the United States.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design and Packaging from the highly respected Art Center in Pasadena, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in business from UC Santa Barbara. Suzanne successfully balances her two great passions: career and family; and infuses her great sense of humor and artistic talent into everything she accomplishes.

Suzanne’s newest venture and vision for the studio is to create a committee and foundation to help others in need. While she’s busy researching and brainstorming ideas for community service, she’s also busy working on projects at UC Riverside, a retail destination in Long Beach, CA, and a city wayfinding system in Southlake, Texas, as well as a mixed use development in Nanjing, China.

“Graphic design is such a visual medium. It enhances the places and spaces of our lives. By honoring the places we design, we honor the people who live and work there also.” – Suzanne Redmond Schwartz.

Martin E. Schwartz, founding partner, blends his architectural and graphic design expertise with his environmental spirit, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. His diverse background gives him a unique three-dimensional perspective, allowing him to see through the lens of all key players–the architects, developers and consultants. Well-respected among his contemporaries, Martin grasps the overall concept of a project while focusing specifically on the graphic design components. Martin’s ability to infuse the element of human psychology enables him to produce projects that are equally inviting and stimulating, facilitating connections between people and their surroundings.

His expertise has earned RSM Design a spot on the bid lists of industry giants. No stranger to creating highly innovative solutions, Martin was responsible at a young age for taking over a chain of struggling retail stores and turning it into a multi-million dollar business. He provides the Studio with visionary leadership, ensuring that all projects exceed the client’s expectations, on time and on budget.

Martin holds a Bachelor of Architecture and Business degree from the University of Texas, and also did course work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Switzerland. After graduating, he went on to work for Steven Ehrlich Architects and RTKL Associates.

Martin just got back from a business conference in Las Vegas, where he went to seminars and lectures focused on how to effectively and efficiently lead a business through the economic times of today. Martin is currently working on a variety of projects in web design and site building. As well as, actively pursuing ideas in educational tools for our industry and new marketing initiatives.

“As an architectural graphic design Studio, we have a responsibility to understand not only the design aspects of the job, but to be intimately familiar with the architectural aspects as well.” – Martin E. Schwartz

Harry Mark, RSM Design principal, brings the best of both worlds to the Studio: an impressive background with some of the world’s leading architectural firms and a hands-on knowledge of international architecture and graphic design. His well-rounded experience has seasoned him to creatively co-direct and manage the RSM Design team, cohesively melding the graphics and architecture. Harry is involved in the development of all projects from conceptualization through fabrication.

Prior to joining RSM, Harry worked for RTKL Associates as an associate project designer and for HOK Architects as a senior design associate. He also had his own architectural and graphic design studio before joining Redmond Schwartz Design.

As the recipient of numerous design awards, Harry’s work and articles have been published in several national magazines and trade journals and featured in exhibits throughout the United States.

He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas and a Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. Harry has been a registered architect for over 20 years, and an active member of the American Institute of Architects, Texas Society of Architects, and the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers. Harry dedicates his summers as a senior architect in remote Turkey, directing a team of graduate students in drawing and reconstructing the ancient archaeological excavation of Aphrodisias.

Harry just got back from China where he visited the project, Marina City, in Qingdao, visited our affiliate office in Shanghai, and also did some marketing. At the studio, Harry is currently working on and managing a variety of projects all around the world— in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nanjing, China and Southlake, Texas. In his freetime, he is remodeling a historic home (we call it the Red Barn) in San Clemente.

“One can’t truly experience architectural design through books alone, but must experience it first hand to understand its power.” –Harry A Mark

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The Vans “Off the Wall” winners have been announced! The Vans judging panel selected the winners for the following four categories including Marketability, Creativity, Originality, and “Off the Wall” Attitude. Each winner received a chance to design their own custom Vans.

“Off the Wall” Attitude Winner: Party in the Back, by William Schwartz

Creativity Winner: This is It, by Ashley Zwar

Originality Winner: Bobble Heads, by Martin Schwartz

Marketability Winner: Chalk it Up, by Kelly Ehrheart

Congratulations to the Winners! Who knows, maybe we’ll see these on the shelves at Vans sometime soon!

RSM Design joined Sonae Sierra and the talented design team behind Loop 5 to celebrate the grand opening in Weiterstadt, Germany. Being located close to Frankfurt Airport and Darmstadt, the home to the control center of the European Space Agency, provided the central design inspiration for this exciting retail destination. The specialty graphics center around a world of aviation and its history created through specialty paving, suspended art features, wall murals, and a unique wayfinding family of signs. Even a full size historic MIG jet hangs from the ceiling of the central atrium and food court to create a one-of-a-kind community meeting place.

The inspiration of airplane propellors, wings, and rutters, as well as the twists and turns of the wayfinding signage forms create a seamless sense of place and an experience for everyone who visits this exciting shopping destination.

Congratulations to Sonae Sierra and the rest of the team on another successful project!

RSM Design began working with New York University and numerous cultural and philanthropic groups in Turkey over 10 years ago to implement a new site tourist sign program at one of the most important Graeco-Roman archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean.  Currently on the list of consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Aphrodisias was in need of a systematic approach to wayfinding for the numerous international tourists that are guided through the well-preserved and partially restored ancient  splendors.

With the opening this month of the final stage of the site’s museum, the sign program nears completion after 10 years of development, testing, and implementation of the program.  Using local village craftsman and regional materials for the sign construction, the site signage uses multi-lingual information panels to introduce the history of the area and aid in the navigation through the city.

RSM Design was fortunate to also design and coordinate the display and exhibit panels for the on-site Aphrodisias Museum, housing and displaying artifacts of unsurpassed value found at the excavation as well as from the renowned school of marble sculpture that was also found on the site.  The amount of registered objects within the collection exceeds well over 12,000 pieces that date back to 5000 B.C. and continues to grow as each year passes.

Check out our previous blog post, “Harry Mark’s Drawings Featured in a Publication on Aphrodisias.”