Marcus Kundmann—Past AIGA MInnesota Board Member February 19, 2014
In the mid1980’s, I was a young designer fortunate to be working in San Francisco, considered a center for great design at the time. That’s where I was first introduced to AIGA. I remember looking through the yearly annuals and began noticing that amazing work coming out out of Minneapolis, rivaling that being produced in San Francisco and NYC. Through circumstance I found myself needing to move from Northern California to icy cold Minnesota, My San Francisco friends thought I was a little nuts, but I went excited at the possibility of becoming part of the vibrant Twin Cities design community.
AIGA/MN was invaluable to me. My first introduction to the local firms and designers was through an AIGA/MN sponsored office tour. It started with a fun lunch at Nikki’s Bar and Grill where I got to meet other young designers. Then it proceeded to offices like McCool and Company, Hall/Kelley, the Duffy Group, Peter Seitz and Associates, Yamamoto/Moss and others. I’d seen the work from these offices in the AIGA annuals and was surprised to have such access. That was true of the AIGA/MN organization in general. I felt very welcome. It was easy to get involved and feel part of the community quickly. I started co-editing the AIGA/MN newsletter about a year after joining the chapter. The connections made through that experience contributed greatly to my career and the happy design life I had during my ten years in Minneapolis.
Contact Leadership
He started his own design studio, Oryx & Moth, doing branding, art direction and design for clients big and small. Meanwhile he was the chair of the Solopreneurs Committee for AIGA MN (2022-2023) and served on the Design Student & Alumni Board at the University of Minnesota (2010-2013). Prior to that he worked at TSG, a design agency in Robbinsdale, for clients including: Target, HealthPartners and Crate & Barrel. He's also had a short stint designing for financial institutions (PNC Bank, Citibank and BBVA Compass). He started out designing and art directing photo shoots for multiple national salon chains throughout the US and Canada. And has had mediocre hairstyles since.
His interests vary widely with the season but he always willing to chat about DIY projects, soccer, LEGO, minimalism, FIRE, AI, technology, saunas, traveling, camping, parenting, etc.