# Michael Mabry

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**Michael Mabry** (born 1955) is an American graphic designer, illustrator, educator, and principal at **Michael Mabry Design**. He was one of the founders of the [San Francisco Bay Area](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Area) [postmodern](/source/Postmodern) movement in [graphic design](/source/Graphic_design), that later became known as the "Pacific Wave".[1]

## Biography

Michael Mabry was born in 1955 in [Niles](/source/Niles,_Michigan), [Michigan](/source/Michigan) and raised in [Park Forest](/source/Park_Forest,_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois).[2][3] Mabry attended [Iowa State University](/source/Iowa_State_University) for a year.[2] He then moved in 1974 to the [University of Utah](/source/University_of_Utah) to study architecture, but changed focus and instead graduated in 1978 with a BA degree in Graphic Design.[2] In 1979, he was invited to join [Nicolas Sidjakov](/source/Nicolas_Sidjakov) and Jerry Berman at the design firm of Sidjakov & Berman Associates in San Francisco.[2]

In the early 1980s a few San Francisco–based designers were nicknamed “The Michaels” because they all had the same name (Mabry, alongside [Cronan](/source/Michael_Patrick_Cronan), [Manwaring](/source/Michael_Manwaring), [Vanderbyl](/source/Michael_Vanderbyl), [Schwab](/source/Michael_Schwab_(designer))), and later they were known as the "Pacific Wave" according to historian [Steven Heller](/source/Steven_Heller_(design_writer)).[4][1][5][6]

In 1981, he opened his own design firm, Michael Mabry Design.[1] Mabry is married to Sarah Mercer Keith, and she is a partner in his design firm.[7][8] Clients have included [The Land of Nod](/source/The_Land_of_Nod_(company)), [NetJets Europe](/source/NetJets_Europe), the [Andrew Mellon Foundation](/source/Andrew_W._Mellon_Foundation), [Chronicle Books](/source/Chronicle_Books), [Hewlett-Packard](/source/Hewlett-Packard), and [The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times).[7][9] The design for the packaging of Mottura shower curtain rings won awards and was included in [I.D. magazine](/source/I.D._(magazine))'s annual design review in 1994.[10]

Mabry was a founding member of the [American Institute of Graphic Art (AIGA)](/source/AIGA) chapter in San Francisco, and served as the first Treasurer and second President.[9] He was awarded the 2014 [AIGA Medal](/source/List_of_AIGA_medalists).[2] He has taught at [California College of the Arts](/source/California_College_of_the_Arts) (CCA) in the graphic design department.[11]

Mabry's work is in various public museum collections including the [San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)](/source/San_Francisco_Museum_of_Modern_Art).[12] He has been a member of the [Alliance Graphique Internationale](/source/Alliance_Graphique_Internationale) (AGI) since 2000.[2]

## References

1. Camuffo, Giorgio (1987). [*Pacific Wave: California Graphic Design*](https://books.google.com/books?id=z3zsAAAAMAAJ) (in Italian). Magnus. ISBN 9788870570700.

1. ["2014 AIGA Medalist: Michael Mabry"](https://www.aiga.org/medalist-michael-mabry). *American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)*. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. Jong, Cees de; Burger, Stefanie; Both, Jorre (2008). [*New Poster Art*](https://books.google.com/books?id=afYxAQAAIAAJ). Thames & Hudson. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-500-28723-1.

1. ["2014 AIGA Medalist: Michael Cronan"](https://www.aiga.org/medalist-michael-cronan). *American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)*. Retrieved 2020-12-31.

1. Bierut, Michael (2019-03-12). [*Now You See It and Other Essays on Design*](https://books.google.com/books?id=bPSKDwAAQBAJ). Chronicle Books. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-61689-676-8.

1. ["Michael: They Have Come To Symbolize San Francisco Design"](http://www.newspapers.com/image/461357152/?terms=%22Michael%20Mabry%22&match=1). *Newspapers.com*. The San Francisco Examiner. 26 January 1986. pp. 23–27. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. ["Fellow Awards 2011 Interview: Michael Mabry"](http://aigasf.org/fellow-awards-2011-interview-michael-mabry/). *AIGA San Francisco*. 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. ["Michael Mabry Celebrates the Simple Pleasures in The Land of Nod"](https://www.commarts.com/columns/michael-mabry-celebrates-the-simple-pleasures-in-the-land-of-nod). *Communication Arts*. 2007-03-04. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. ["Lecture Series: Designer & Illustrator Michael Mabry"](https://weber-edu-dova.org/shawgallery/2013/08/15/lecture-series-designer-illustrator-michael-mabry/). *Shaw Gallery, Weber State University*. November 29, 2012. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. Ho, Cathy Lang (24 August 1994). ["Local firms again win big in design competitions, from computer gear to shower rings, products corporate and quirky win judges' favor"](http://www.newspapers.com/image/461961613/). *Newspapers.com*. The San Francisco Examiner. p. 67. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. ["Distinguished Alumni"](https://www.art.utah.edu/about/visiting_artists/distinguished-alumni/). *Department of Art & Art History*. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

1. ["Mabry, Michael"](https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/michael_mabry/). *SFMOMA*. Retrieved 2021-01-01.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Mabry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mabry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mabry?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.