Span

invited us to exhibit in their Great ideas of Humanity exhibition. We had 4 works on display designed for the show.

on Theaster Gates
In equality

“I’m not a preacher, but I preach. I’m not a Buddhist, but I chant. I’m not race theorist, but I have questions and ponderances around the complexities of race and class and culture wherever I am.”


Artist Statement from Nick Adam
As a steward of space, history, and labor, Theaster Gates often engages deeply with materials, archives, and rituals that honor care and sanctity. In this work, the text set in GT Planar becomes a devotional object, carefully composed to evoke the tension between sacred and profane, spirituality and manual labor, intellect and emotion, archival preservation and radical disruption. Tea-toned Cyanotype on Hahanemuhle Platinum Rag.

What is Great Ideas of Humanity?
John Massey, former Container Corporation of America (CCA) head of design, encouraged the Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC) to reimagine the Great Ideas of Western Man campaign. DMoC happily obliged. DMoC reprise, Great Ideas of Humanity, embraces the increasing globalization of our world and celebrates the resulting cross-pollination of ideas, philosophies, societies, and cultures.

Great Ideas of Humanity
From 1950–1975, Chicago-based Container Corporation of America ran a campaign heralded as one of the best in advertising history, Great Ideas of Western Man. The world has changed since 1975, but great ideas are timeless. This response is organized by the Design Museum of Chicago, celebrating the enduring power of ideas through design.

At Span were recently invited by to exhibit work in the Great Ideas of Humanity exhibition.

This piece is from and Zach Minnich on Manal Al-Sharif
In knowledge and the mind

“How beautiful it is to live in a world with no walls.”
Manal Al-Sharif

Artist Statement
Zach Minnich and John Pobojewski are part of Span, a studio crossing the boundaries of communication design in all mediums located in Chicago. Our work is focused on challenging expectations with wit, logic, and a playful spirit. Blending typographic discipline with fearless expression, we elevate the role of the visual message in both culture and community. Span takes the long view — in every gesture and every project.

What is Great Ideas of Humanity?
John Massey, former Container Corporation of America (CCA) head of design, encouraged the Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC) to reimagine the Great Ideas of Western Man campaign. DMoC happily obliged. DMoC reprise, Great Ideas of Humanity, embraces the increasing globalization of our world and celebrates the resulting cross-pollination of ideas, philosophies, societies, and cultures.

Great Ideas of Humanity
From 1950–1975, Chicago-based Container Corporation of America ran a campaign heralded as one of the best in advertising history, Great Ideas of Western Man. The world has changed since 1975, but great ideas are timeless. This response is organized by the Design Museum of Chicago, celebrating the enduring power of ideas through design.

To launch Intuit Art Museum’s new visual identity, at we designed an engaging out-of-home campaign aimed at reintroducing the museum to both local and international audiences. Featuring ads and train cars and station advertisements, the campaign was strategically placed across Chicago to generate excitement and curiosity around the museum’s reopening.

The primary goals of the campaign were to build buzz around the newly renamed and rebranded museum, elevate awareness of the IAM identity, and attract a wider range of members and supporters both nationally and internationally.

Campaign messaging played on the museum’s unique position as an unconventional art space. Headlines such as “The art museum reimagined,” “We’re not a Michigan Avenue kind of museum,” and “We hope we’re not what you were expecting” reinforced the museum’s identity as surprising, imaginative, and welcoming.

This campaign positioned as a distinctive and approachable institution, promising visitors an art museum experience beyond the ordinary—one that invites everyone to engage with art in new, unexpected, and meaningful ways.

Span Design team:
, Design Direction
, Strategy, Writingcrz, Design