Emily Oberman to Be Honored with AIGA Medal
The Pentagram partner has been selected to receive the design profession’s highest award.
Pentagram is thrilled to announce that our partner Emily Oberman has been selected to receive the AIGA Medal, the most distinguished honor in the profession of communication design. The medal is awarded to individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements to the advancement of design as a respected craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. Oberman and the other recipients of this year’s AIGA Awards will be celebrated at a special reception at the AIGA Design Conference in Seattle this October.
The Awards Nomination Committee cited Emily for “imprinting our visual culture with her wit and great fluency of style—highly influential, she is a north star for designers in business and ubiquitous as a graphic artist in entertainment.”
Emily has been a partner in Pentagram’s New York office since 2012. A graduate of Cooper Union, she began her career working with Tibor Kalman at the legendary design studio M&Co. before co-founding No.17 with Bonnie Siegler in 1993.
Saturday Night Live brand identity and title sequences, 1994-present.
Talking Heads “(Nothing but) Flowers” music video, designed by Tibor Kalman and Emily Oberman at M&Co. and directed by Kalman and Sandy Mcleod, 1988.
Laurie Anderson “Strange Angels” album cover. Creative direction by Tibor Kalman and design by Emily Oberman at M&Co., 1989. Portrait by Robert Mapplethorpe.
Air America poster, designed by Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler at No.17, 2004.
Emily’s clients have included “Saturday Night Live,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Warner Bros., Netflix, Amazon, DC Entertainment, Warner Records, MTV, Fisher-Price, Lovevery, Great Jones and Snoop Dogg. She has taught at numerous institutions, and has served on the national board of AIGA and as president of its New York chapter.
“I am a graphic designer, raised by graphic designers,” says Emily. “My whole life has been through the lens of design, and because of that, I am beyond thrilled and honored to be recognized by the AIGA—and join so many of my true heroes—for many years of getting to do what I love.”
For those keeping track, Emily will be Pentagram’s seventh partner to receive the honor, following Colin Forbes (1991), Paula Scher (2001), Woody Pirtle (2003), Kit Hinrichs (2004), Michael Bierut (2006), and Abbott Miller (2014).
Jigsaw Productions identity, 2014.
Film Independent Spirit Awards brand identity and motion graphics, 2015-present.
DC Entertainment brand identity, 2016.
Lovevery brand identity and packaging, 2017.
The Wizarding World logo, 2018.
Hudson River Park identity, signage and environmental graphics, 2018.
Warner Records brand identity, 2019.
Warner Bros. brand identity, 2019.
Fisher-Price brand identity, 2019.
Tribeca Festival campaign and branding, 2021.
Serif brand identity, 2021.
