Info

Spur represents the marriage of type and image. Founded by Joyce Hesselberth and Dave Plunkert in 1995, Spur distinguishes itself through an approach to design that is driven by client needs rather than a particular style. While the Spur creative team may include designers, copywriters, photographers, and illustrators, Hesselberth or Plunkert always provide the creative direction for every project. Together, they have developed a working method that tempers the strictness of design with visual wit and clarity. "We approach all design assignments from the standpoint of the supremacy of the concept," says Hesselberth. "In both worlds,design and illustration,it is all about rendering a message clearly," says Plunkert. "We wanted a name that is both a noun and a verb," says Hesselberth, "A noun because it suggests a concrete object that is readily identifiable and a verb because it signifies action, and suggests movement." Spur makes the point, in original and surprising ways. Spur provides full graphic design and marketing communications services. They have produced work for Adobe, Capitol Records, The Economist Group, MTV, and the National Academy of Sciences to name a few. Several of Spur's posters are included in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress as well as in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, The Museum für Kunst und Gerwerbe Hamburg and the University of California Design Museum. Their work has been featured in the books: Exploring the Elements of Design, Colossal Design, Graphic Design America 3, The New Big Book of Color, and 2 Color Graphics. The Spur Propaganda Gallery, adjacent to the firm's studio, is solely devoted to showing the work of illustrators, graphic designers, cartoonists, and commercial photographers.