Renate Gokl

Renate Gokl is a graphic designer, an Associate Professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago [SAIC], and the Chair of the Department of Visual Communication Design [VCD] where she also teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses.^[1] Her career spans twenty-five years as both a designer and educator. Her work focuses on typography and book design—primarily for cultural and educational institutions—and is known for its resonant information structures.^[2] Her areas of expertise: typography / book and publication design / information structures + systems / visual organization / methodology / visual narrative. Her research and creative activity + interests: typographic structures / re/interpreting text / exploring poetic qualities/potential of typography / interconnections/relationships.

Since 1992 Gokl has maintained a freelance graphic design practice, Renate Gokl Design, specializing in book design, identity design, and varied print collateral for clients such as museums, galleries, educational institutions, university presses, architects, artists, and designers, and produces self-initiated projects ranging from artists books to letterpress prints. Other professional experience includes: Associate + Senior Designer Studio Blue, Chicago, IL [2004-2006]; Senior Designer University of Chicago Press , Chicago, IL [2001-2004]; Designer, Forsythe Design Boston, MA [1990–1992]; Art Director/Designer Marshall Field’s Advertising Chicago, IL [1986-1988]; Designer Strandell Design Chicago, IL [1985-1986].

Gokl earned a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which she attended from 1980 to 1985. She received her MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1990 [Thesis: Things Are Not As Simple As They Seem: The Power of Implication]. She lives in Hyde Park with two cats.^[3]

Teaching

Gokl joined the faculty of SAIC in 2006.^[4] Gokl has stated that, "First and foremost, we want students to cultivate a sense of joy in their work and to develop their personal voice as designers/artists... Additionally, we want them to be independent, conceptual and critical thinkers, have strong and adaptable working processes, and to be aware of how they position themselves and their practice in relation to theory, history and methodology.” ^[5] Prior to her SAIC appointment, Gokl was at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she was tenured,^[6] and taught courses from 1992-2001.^[7]

Selected Awards of Excellence from Juried Competitions

• Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, 2007; In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau and his American Students (book), Philbrook Museum of Art & Yale University Press, national competition
• Fifty-sixth Annual Chicago Book Clinic Show, 2007; Chicago Book Clinic;In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau and his American Students (book), Philbrook Museum of Art & Yale University Press, midwest regional competition
• AAUP Book, Jacket & Journal Show, 2006; Association of American University Presses, New York; 'Who Wrote the Book of Love? (book cover), University of Chicago Press, national competition & traveling exhibition ^[8]
• Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, 2006; Beyond/in Western New York (exhibition catalogue), Albright-Knox Art Gallery, national competition
• STEP Magazine Design 100, 2005; Beyond/in Western New York (exhibition catalogue), Albright-Knox Art Gallery, national competition
• Fifty-third Annual Chicago Book Clinic Show, 2004; Chicago Book Clinic Hagia Sophia (book), University of Chicago Press, midwest regional competition
• 50 Books/50 Covers, 2004; American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York; Boys will be Boys (book), University of Chicago Press, national competition & traveling exhibition ^[9]
• Fifty-second Annual Chicago Book Clinic Show, 2003; Chicago Book Clinic; Civil and Corrupt Asia (book), University of Chicago Press, midwest regional competition
• 50 Books/50 Covers, 2002; American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York; A View by Two: Contemporary Jewelry (exhibition catalogue), RISD Museum, national competition & traveling exhibition ^[10]
• AAUP Book, Jacket & Journal Show, 2002; Association of American University Presses, New York; Creating Mental Illness (book cover), University of Chicago Press ^[11]
• Forty-ninth Annual Chicago Book Clinic Show, 2000; Chicago Book Clinic; Seven Rules of Rikyu (artists’ book), midwest regional competition
• AIGA Communication Graphics, 1999; American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York; Schaudt Landscape Architecture (brochure), Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture ^[12][13][14]
• UCDA 29th Annual Design Competition, 1999; University and College Designers Association;Die Bücher Ber Künstler (poster), Krannert Art Museum; Ilya Kabakov: The Boat Of My Life (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum, national competition & exhibition
• 77th National & 12th International Art Directors Club Exhibition, 1998; The Art Directors Club, New York; Schaudt Landscape Architecture (brochure), Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture
• 44th Annual Type Directors Club Exhibition, 1998; Type Directors Club, New York; Schaudt Landscape Architecture (brochure), Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture
• Nineteenth Annual 100 Show, 1996; American Center for Design, Chicago, Illinois; Selected Mountain Poems of Stonehouse (artists’ book)
• 74th National & 9th International Art Directors Club Exhibition, 1995; The Art Directors Club, New York; Distinctive Merit Award, Vernon Fisher (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum; Merit Award, Alfred Now: Contemporary American Ceramics (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• Forty-sixth Annual Chicago Book Clinic Show, 1995; Chicago Book Clinic; Alfred Now: Contemporary American Ceramics (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• Seventeenth Annual 100 Show, 1994; American Center for Design, Chicago, Illinois; Al Held Italian Watercolors (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• AIGA Communication Graphics, 1994; American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York; Al Held Italian Watercolors (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• 1994 Museum Publications Design Competition, 1994; American Association of Museums, Washington DC; First Prize in magazine category, Krannert Art Museum Biannual
• Annual Simpson Paper Competition, 1994; Al Held Italian Watercolors (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• 73rd National & 8th International Art Directors Club Exhibition, 1994; The Art Directors Club, New York; Al Held Italian Watercolors (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• Forty-fifth Annual Chicago Book Clinic Show, 1994; Chicago Book Clinic; Honor Award, Al Held Italian Watercolors (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• 40th Annual Type Directors Club Exhibition, 1994; Type Directors Club, New York; Al Held Italian Watercolors (exhibition catalogue), Krannert Art Museum
• UCDA 24th Annual Design Competition, 1994; University and College Designers Association; Silver Award, school of art and design outstanding achievement award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• AIGA Communication Graphics, 1992; American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York; RISD jewelry & light metals (catalogue), RISD Metals Department
• How Magazine, Annual Self-Promotion Competition, 1992; Merit Award, forsythe design holiday card

Artist-in-Residences

• Ucross Foundation Ucross, Wyoming, April 1999; Received through a competitive process, a residency of 4 weeks. Designed, composed, and printed by letterpress a limited edition book work, Seven Rules of Rikyu, which subsequently received an award of excellence from the Chicago Book Clinic, 2000.
• Ucross Foundation Ucross, Wyoming, May 1995; Received through a competitive process, a residency of 4 weeks. Designed, composed, and printed by letterpress a limited edition book work, The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse, which subsequently received an award of excellence from the American Center for Design 100 Show, 1996

Grants received

• Dean’s Special Grant; College of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1999, 2000
• Brody Faculty Development Grant; School of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1998, 1999, 2000

Permanent collections

• AIGA American Design Archives:^[15] Boys Will Be Boys; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 2003; A View by Two: Contemporary Jewelry; Renate Gokl, Chicago, Illinois, 2001; Schaudt Landscape Architecture Brochure; Renate Gokl, Urbana, Illinois, 1998; Al Held Watercolors; University of Illinois, Office of Printing Services, Urbana, Illinois, 1993
• Rhode Island School of Design/Jewelry and Light Metals Dept.; RG Design, Somerville, Massachusetts, 1991
• Denver Art Museum
• New York Public Library Print Collection
• Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection

Professional Design Work Published in Books

• Samara, Tim, Design Evolution: A Handbook of Basic Design Principles Applied in Contemporary Design, Rockport Publishers, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 2008, p. 31
• Cullen, Kristen, Layout Workbook, Rockport Publishers, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 2005, pp. 64–65, 75, 106, 162–165
• The Best of Brochure Design 5, Rockport Publishers, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 1999, pp. 103, 171
• Lewis, Rita, Adobe Pagemill 2.0 Handbook, Hayden Books, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1997, p. 295
• Grear, Malcolm, Inside/Outside: From the Basics to the Practice of Design, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, New York, 1993, p. 154
• Diagram Graphics, PIE Books, Tokyo, Japan, 1992, p. 101
• Brochure Design Forum, PIE Books, Tokyo, Japan, 1992, Vol. 2, p. 55
• Business Card Graphics, PIE Books, Tokyo, Japan, 1992, p. 162

Professional Design Work Published in Books from Competitions

• 365: AIGA Year in Design 25, AIGA, New York, New York, 2004, p. 168
• 365: AIGA Year in Design 23, AIGA, New York, New York, 2002, p. 393
• Graphic Design USA: 20, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1999, p. 123
• Typography 19, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1998
• 77th Art Directors Annual, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1998, p. 342
• Nineteenth Annual 100 Show, RotoVision SA, Switzerland, 1996
• 74th Art Directors Annual, RotoVision SA, Switzerland, 1995, p. 118
• Graphic Design USA: 15, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1994, p. 190
• Graphis Packaging, The Graphis Press, Zurich, Switzerland, 1994, p. 182
• 73rd Art Directors Annual, RotoVision SA, Switzerland, 1994, p. 157
• Seventeenth Annual 100 Show, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1994, p. 117
• Typography 15, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1994, p. 188
• Graphic Design USA: 13, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York, 1992, p. 165

Professional Design Work Published in Magazines

• Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, November 2007
• Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, November 2006
• STEP, March/April 2006
• Printmaking Today, Winter 2001, p. 33
• “New Visual Artists ‘98, 20 On The Brink: Great Expectations,” Print Magazine, lii:i, 1998, pp. 195 and 200. Showcases work from 2 students in my course, Senior Graphic Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Museum News, The Magazine of the American Association of Museums, August 1994, Washington DC, p. 31
• How Magazine, October 1992, p. 104
• Art Aurea, Internationale Zeitschrift für Gestaltung, 1989, Germany, Vol. 3, p. 57
• A. de Forest, “The Educated Eye,” ID Magazine, September/October, 1989, p. 48
• K. Lenk, “Diagrams, Charts, Graphs,” Graphis Magazine, 1985, Zürich, Switzerland, Vol. 238, p. 58

Articles in Journals

• R. Gokl, T. Ockerse, “Semiotics as Design Method,” Spirals 91, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 1991, pp. 177–188

Selected Commissioned/Independent Projects

• Design Issues, Volume 31:3 cover design, 2015
• Master Paintings, book design for permanent collection, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 2009
• Fordham University Press, book and cover designs, Bronx, New York, 2005–present
• University of Chicago Press, book and cover designs, Chicago, Illinois, 2007–present
• Richard Gray Gallery, newsletter, postcards, and ads, Chicago, Illinois, 2008
• Winnetka Congregational Church, typography for covenant stone and commemorative wall panel, Winnetka, Illinois, 2007
• Loyola Press, book and cover designs, Chicago, Illinois, 2007
• A(+D) to Z, Festschrift for type designer Professor Hermann Zapf in commemoration of being awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003. Designed the packaging/binding/frontmatter for this limited-edition book of tributes. Invited graphic design alumni of UIUC’s School of Art and Design from the past 3 decades to contribute a specially designed page for inclusion.
• Influence Across Fields, The Chicago Architectural Journal 10, 152 pages, The Chicago Architectural Club, Chicago, Illinois, 2002
• A View By Two: Contemporary Jewelry, 48-page exhibition catalogue, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 2001
• Knot Nots, Barbara Yoshida + Amy Hufnagel, artists’ book, edition of 100, New York, New York, 2000
• Positions in Architecture, The Chicago Architectural Journal 9, 152 pages, The Chicago Architectural Club, Chicago, Illinois, 2000
• The Architecture of Durisch + Nolli, 84-page exhibition catalogue, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, 2000
• Architecture at Illinois, newsletter for alumni, donors, and friends, 32 pages, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, 1999
• University of Illinois Press, logo and visual identity system, Champaign, Illinois, 1999
• David Clinard Design, visual identity system, New York, New York, 1999
• Seven Rules of Rikyu, artists’ book, letterpress, 18-page accordion fold, edition of 50, self-initiated project, designed and printed while a resident at the Ucross Foundation, Wyoming, 1999
• Crenshaw Stories, 32-page catalogue commemorating a public arts project by Buzz Spector for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 1998
• Frederic Spector Design Studio, visual identity system, press kit, promotional materials, Providence, Rhode Island, 1997–present
• Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture, promotional brochure, announcements, and cards, Chicago, Illinois, 1997–2005
• Selected Mountain Poems of Stonehouse, artists’ book, letterpress, 16 pages, edition of 30, self-initiated project, designed and printed while a resident at the Ucross Foundation, Wyoming, 1995
• Naming, Timothy van Laar, artists’ book, 32 pages, Champaign, Illinois, 1995
• Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, Illinois, primary designer of printed materials (exhibition catalogues, brochures, postcards, calendars, exhibition graphics) produced by the museum, 1991–1999. Selected work includes: contemporary art series catalogues, 1994–1999, featuring the work of mid-career artists in the Contemporary Art Series exhibitions, 24-36 pages each.
• Ilya Kabakov: Boat of My Life, 174-page exhibition catalogue, 1998
• Die Bücher der Künstler, poster, 1998
• Alfred Now: Contemporary American Ceramics, 56-page exhibition catalogue, 1994
• Krannert Art Museum Biannual Members Magazine, 16 pages, 1993–1995
• Al Held Italian Watercolors, 122-page exhibition catalogue, 1993
• Julio Larraz Paintings, 36-page exhibition catalogue, 1992
• Gokl, Renata. Knot Nots: A Fairytale. Letterpress edition of 100^[16]

Press

• New Visual Artists 98. 52 Vol. Rockville: F & W Publications, Inc, 1998.

Invited Lectures, Presentations, and Juries

• Association of American University Presses (AAUP) annual conference: connect, collaborate, panel presentation “50th Anniversary of the Book, Jacket, and Journal Show” addressing the current state of scholarly book design and digital publishing, Denver, June 2015 ^[17][18]
• Served on the jury for the 2015 aaup book, jacket, and journal show, with Simon Johnston, Ned Drew, and Nola Burger, New York, January 2015
• MPA book and media show, juror, annual Midwest Publishing Association Book and Media Show, Chicago, Illinois, August 2012
• Program Committee AIGA Design Education Conference 2004 ^[19]
• Using Type Well, presentation, American Association of University Presses Annual Meeting, St. Louis, Missouri, June 2003
• Commencement Address, School of Art + Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Urbana, Illinois, May 2003
• Teaching and Practice, panel discussion, AIGA Chicago, Breakfast Series, Three Arts Club, Chicago, Illinois, September 2000
• Graduate Education: fact or fiction, American Center for Design, Chicago, Illinois, 1993. Thesis exhibition accompanying national design symposium. Five schools (Rhode Island School of Design, North Carolina State University, Pratt, the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, and Cranbrook) were asked to submit one thesis that best represented their design program and philosophy. The schools and their philosophies were the point of departure for the national symposium.

References