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Draft:Alex Center

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  • Comment: Please remove all inline external links from body text; convert to inline citations where relevant. DoubleGrazing (talk) 16:04, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Introduction

Alex Center is an American designer, creative director, podcaster and founder of the Brooklyn based, award winning branding studio CENTER. He grew up in Oceanside, NY. Prior to opening his own studio, he spent over a decade working for The Coca-Cola Company.[1] Much of his early career as Design Director was spent building the beverage brands vitaminwater, smartwater, and Powerade.[2] In 2018 he founded CENTER, and has since gone on to build and partner with global brands such as United Sodas of America, Kin Euphorics, Simulate, Conbody, and New Balance.[3] He has shared his story at numerous conferences, including Brand New and RGD Design Thinkers.

Early Life and Education

Center was born in 1984 in Oceanside, New York, where he grew up. He graduated from the University at Buffalo in 2006, where he received a BFA in Communication Design.[4]

Career

Center started his career as an intern for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.[4] In 2006, he was hired to be the first full time graphic designer at the beverage company Glaceau Energy Brands, where he designed for the brands vitaminwater and smartwater.[5]

In 2007, The Coca-Cola Company purchased Glaceau Energy Brands for 4.1 Billion dollars in the biggest beverage acquisition of all time.[6] After this acquisition, Center was the Design Director at The Coca-Cola Company from 2007 to 2017.[7]

Alex was named one of the 200 Best Packaging Designers in 2011 by Luerzers Archive.[8] In 2013, he started sharing his story with speaking engagements with The Dieline, American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), HOW Design Live and as a guest on Debbie Millman's podcast, Design Matters.[9] In 2014, Alex was named a Person To Watch by GDUSA Magazine.[10] In 2015, he became a columnist for HOW Magazine, writing about the expanding landscape of In-House design.[11]

In 2017, Center left Coke to open his own branding and design studio CENTER. Today, Alex and his team are building and partnering with the iconic, new to world brands such as Kin Euphorics, Conbody, Liquid Death, Magic Spoon, Simulate, and United Sodas of America, as well as legacy brands such as Apple Inc., New Balance, and Coinbase.[3][12]

Center is a frequent speaker at conferences, covering topics on design, branding, and his career. He has presented at Brand New Conference, AIGA conferences, DesignThinkers in Vancouver and Toronto, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada (ADCC) conference, and more.[13][14][15] He is 2024 program partner for HOW Design Live, where he has also been a keynote speaker.[16]

Reception and awards

Since its opening, the CENTER team, led by Alex Center, has had their work featured in publications such as FastCompany, It's Nice That, and The Dieline.[3][17][18][19] In 2022, CENTER was named one of ten studios and agencies to watch by The Dieline.[20]

The studio has won numerous awards for their design and branding work, including:

  • KatKin (2023)
    • The Dieline Awards: 3rd Place, Baby, Kids, & Pets[21]
  • Butter (2023)
    • The Dieline Awards: Best of Brand Identity[21]
    • The Dieline Awards: 1st Place, Tobacco and Cannabis[21]
  • United Sodas of America (2021)

In addition to the success of the studio, Center has shared his opinions on branding and design in numerous articles with The New York Times, FastCompany, The Dieline, and PRINT.[26][27][28][29] In addition, he's been interviewed by various outlets such as PRINT, The Breakfast App, Nicework, and Pentawards.[30][31][32][33]

Personal life

Center is married to Jacquelyn DeJesu Center, the founder and CEO of DEEJAYZOO, a femme-focused design and innovation company, and SHHHOWERCAP, a fashion-forward reinvention of the showercap.

References

  1. ^ "How Alex Center, Former Design Director at Coca-Cola, Gets Amazing Work from His New Creative Team". Working Not Working. Working Not Working. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Fireside Chat With Alex Center". AIGA. AIGA. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Clark, Yaya Azariah. "Inside Center and its bold and striking approach to branding". It's Nice That. It's Nice that. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b Flatt, Michael. "Sporting a Brand". University at Buffalo. University at Buffalo. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  5. ^ Drumm, Perrin. "6 Things Designer Alex Center Learned From Working at Coca-Cola". AIGA Eye on Design. AIGA. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  6. ^ "The Coca-Cola Company to Acquire Glaceau, Maker of Vitaminwater, for $4.1 Billion". The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Q&A: Coca-Cola's Alex Center". Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ^ Millman, Debbie. "Alex Center". PRINT. PRINT. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Alex Center". Design Matters with Debbie Millman. Design Matters Media. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. ^ "50-Plus Years of GDUSA People To Watch". Graphic Design USA. Graphic Design USA. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Alex Center". Skillshare. Skillshare, Inc. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  12. ^ Gosling, Emily. "Center Design looks to 'completely reinvent' soft drinks with minimalist United Soda branding". Creative Boom. Creative Boom Ltd. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Alex Center". 2022 Brand New Conference. UnderConsideration LLC. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  14. ^ Hamilton, Nicola. "20 Questions with Alex Center". Youtube. Youtube. Retrieved 24 April 2024. {{cite web}}: Text "Designer, Podcaster & Founder of CENTER" ignored (help)
  15. ^ "In & Around Design: Alex Center". ADCC. The Advertising & Design Club of Canada. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Program Partners". HOW Design Live. Emerald X, LLC. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  17. ^ Segran, Elizabeth. "Revolutionary culinary collective Ghetto Gastro is bringing its goods to Target". FastCompany. FastCompany & Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  18. ^ Sanchez, Rudy. "Center-Designed KatKin Is For Hardcore Cat Parents". The Dieline. The Dieline. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  19. ^ Sanchez, Rudy. "CENTER and Suncare Brand Pavise Make Science Sexy". The Dieline. The Dieline. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  20. ^ "10 Studios & Agencies To Watch". The Dieline. The Dieline. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  21. ^ a b c "The Best in Packaging From 2023: Dieline Awards Winners Revealed". The Dieline. The Dieline. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  22. ^ a b "2021 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Award Winners". adforum. MAYDREAM, INC. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  23. ^ "United Sodas of America". The One Club For Creativity. The One Club For Creativity. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  24. ^ "United Sodas of America". The One Club For Creativity. The One Club For Creativity. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  25. ^ a b "The Absolute Best in Packaging: Dieline Awards 2021 Winners Revealed". The Dieline. The Dieline. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  26. ^ Peyser, Eve. "The M&M's Aren't Done With Us Yet". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  27. ^ Petit, Zachary. "5 design leaders on what they *really* wish they could redesign in 2024". Fast Company. Fast Company & Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  28. ^ McCool, Bill. "Designers on Their Favorite Packaging From 2023". The Dieline. The Dieline. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  29. ^ Gordon, Chloe. "Are We Losing Color? All Logos Are Starting To Look The Same". PRINT. PRINT. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  30. ^ Millman, Debbie. "What Matters: Alex Center on Swimming Pools and Hating On Design Crits". PRINT. PRINT. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Alex Center". Breakfast. The Breakfast Application. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  32. ^ Drakes, Ross. "Alex Center: Vitamin Water - The $4.1 billion brand that changed the beverage game". Nicework. Nicework. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Interview with Alex Center, designer and founder of branding studio CENTER". Pentawards. Pentawards. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
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