BIOGRAPHY 1992-the present Founds Ruth Ansel Design Studio Clients Include: Gucci Richard Avedon Studio Annie Leibovitz Bruce Weber Gianni Versace DIFFA Club Monaco Chic Simple Random House Aperture Abrams Books Mirabella Magazine Columbia Journalism Review James Danziger Gallery 1994 Ruth receives The Society of Publications Designers highest award The Herb Lubalin Award for Continuing Excellence for all her previous magazine and design work
"Magazines have been a passion of mine ever since I realized they were the closest visual form I could find to the movies, the medium I loved most growing up in New York. Both are about images, moving or still, illusions pretending to be realities that tell stories. Each has a structure with a beginning, middle and end. This was what attracted me to the ultimate fashion magazine of it's time, Harper's Bazaar. The magazine embodied much more than fashion. It was as much about anticipating the next new shift, culturally and politically, as it was about style. Think about the impact of The Beatles, Pop Art, St.Laurent's sexy tuxedo and landing a man on the moon. It was at that moment when everything changed, that I came of age as a designer." At it's best, Ruth Ansel believes graphic design informs and entertains the eye while defining the moment. Good design and good art direction need one unfailing sensibility, the necessity to be in sync with your time. She says, "I always try to mix the elements of high and low culture, from the streets to the salons." One of her primary goals is to create a new visual language that breaks with tradition using type and photography. After designing some of the most influential and successful magazines in America: Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, House & Garden and Vogue she felt it was time for new challenges. With her unique skills and modern signature style she has formed her own studio." I try not to go back and repeat myself," Ansel says. She feels there is a growing need to create sophisticated advertising campaigns free of the visual clutter that surrounds us. "Today's clients want relevant design statements that are personally identified with their products. I know of no other way to work than to follow my own instincts and interests," she says. There isn't any 'right' or 'wrong' in graphic design, only that which 'works' or 'doesn't work.' What I try to achieve visually is the blurring of cultural boundaries to express a common global sensibility. The objective," she continues, "is to keep it simple, unconventional and personal." At the heart of her success is her belief in the emotional power of the image.