Asterisk Design

We are thrilled to announce that our project The Art of Craft for Studios in Albuquerque has earned a 2024 AIGA365 Award from 🎉

With a nod to the Studio’s New Mexico location, these installations celebrate the tradespeople — hair and makeup, costuming, set construction, and lighting artists — whose work creates on-screen magic and ensures audiences see, believe, and feel the stories that matter. By transforming their everyday tools (brushes, combs, and clips; zippers, spools, and measuring tape; plywood, sandpaper, and hardware; cables, filters, and gels) into large-scale installations, the series spotlights the craft and skill of those whose names are typically tucked deep into the production credits.

Standing ovation to the Netflix facilities and construction team, our fab and install partners at , and all the craftspeople whose materials and talents inspire our own love of getting the details right. And yes — we’re particularly grateful for our first career opportunity to specify 162 linear feet of turquoise blue hair extensions.

***Number seven in a series of stories from 25* years of building brands.***

Our first meeting with took place in their 1970s-era headquarters in the Radio Film and Television building on the UT Austin campus. The KLRU station, operating there for decades, was preparing for a move to a new office and studio space at Austin Community College’s Highland campus.

Then-CEO Bill Stotesberry led our tour, which included a ride on the giant freight elevator — lined with signatures of performers and guests — to Studio 6A, home to countless tapings. Walking the stage and examining the iconic recreation of the Austin skyline backdrop was a brush with television history.

The move to the Austin PBS New Media Center promised three state-of-the-art studios, plus event, meeting, office, archive, and community spaces. The space would also debut the PBS national rebrand. Over two years, we collaborated with lead architects .steinbomer, interior designers .group and PBS executive and development leaders to handle design of signage, donor recognition, and placemaking graphics.

Building on an early concept by Britt Design Group, we integrated the new PBS logo into a 2-story millwork entry detail, transforming it into a selfie spot. A custom neon cabinet atop the blue “P-Head” logo connected Austin PBS’s legacy to its future.

Covid and Austin’s 2021 freeze delayed the project’s completion, but made the joyous community opening in 2022 all the more rewarding. We’re proud to continue our creative and financial support of Austin PBS under CEO Luis Patiño today.

Texans love H-E-B, the state’s favorite homegrown grocer, and we’re fortunate to have worked with their Design and Construction team for more than a decade, nurturing a relationship seeded in an earlier professional context.

From Waco to The Woodlands — and in Mexico — we’ve helped shape signage and graphics packages for a host of store formats and locations.

The D&C team leadership led the way with customer insight and a generous sense of collaboration. Early on, Director Gwen Newland exemplified an “always keep a foot on the gas” approach to these big, complex projects.

With Gwen, we developed top-down store graphic packages including the Mi Tienda concept in Houston, H-E-B’s Fuel stations and convenience stores, and a mini H-E-B for kids. The work was really rewarding, particularly when we shopped among it in our own neighborhood H-E-Bs.

Gwen’s successor, Kenny Duggan, took the leadership baton during a period of rapid store growth and innovation. With Kenny, we worked on new store concepts in the Texas Valley, in-store restaurants, merchandising programs, an optical shop, and some of the own-brand products we use daily.

Kenny built H-E-B’s internal team into a design powerhouse that has landed H-E-B on many industry “best of” lists. We’re grateful to have contributed to the voice and experience of this beloved Texas brand.