ABOUT HIMAge: 40.Hometown: Born in Philadelphia; raised in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Asheville/Greenville, N.C.Education: Bachelor in Fine Arts from East Carolina University, Master of Fine Arts from University of Alabama, Yale University School of Management “Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders.”Family: Peg, wife of 19 years, nine children, one “naughty dog and 12 chickens.”Hobbies: All things Italian; following Chattanooga Football Club/international soccer; University of North Carolina basketball.INFLUENTIAL BOOKS”Technopoly” by Neil Postman, “Heat” by Bill Buford, “Made You Look” by Stefan Sagmeister.ON COOKINGAnother of Rustand’s hobbies, he said, is cooking (and eating). “I should mention,” he said, “learning to cook from Jamie Oliver TV shows is also pretty important.”
Paul Rustand said the most important aspect of a good graphic has nothing to do with the graphic design. The client, he said, is the most important partner to a designer.
Rustand, founder and director of Chattanooga-based Widgets & Stone, knows of what he speaks. He recently was honored by the American Institute for Graphic Arts with a Fellow award and is the only AIGA Fellow living and working in Tennessee.
The Fellow award program, according to AIGA, is a means of recognizing designers who have made a significant contribution to the craft. The areas of education, writing, leadership and reputation, as well as the practice of design are given equal consideration in measuring significant contribution.
“While [his] design work speaks for itself, it’s Paul’s personality that draws people and projects around the studio,” said Matt Greenwell, a Widgets & Stone collaborator.