# Rajie Cook > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rajie_Cook > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rajie_Cook.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajie_Cook > Source revision: 1353666876 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Palestinian-American graphic designer (1930–2021)}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2021}} {{infobox person |name=Rajie Cook |image=rajie portrait.jpg |caption= Cook in a portrait by Thomas Francisco |birth_date={{birth date|1930|7|6}} |birth_place=[Newark, New Jersey](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey), US |death_date={{death date and age|2021|2|6|1930|7|6}} |death_place=[Newtown, Pennsylvania](/source/Newtown%2C_Bucks_County%2C_Pennsylvania), US |education=[Pratt Institute](/source/Pratt_Institute) | occupation = Graphic designer, artist |spouse={{marriage|Margit Schneider|1955}} |children=2 |awards=Presidential Award for Design Excellence (1985) |years_active=1953–2021 }} '''Rajie Cook''' (July 6, 1930 – February 6, 2021), also known as '''Roger Cook''', was a [Palestinian-American](/source/Palestinian_Americans) graphic designer, artist, peace activist, humanitarian and [photographer](/source/photographer). Cook was born in [Newark, New Jersey](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey), in 1930, into a [Palestinian Christian](/source/Palestinian_Christians) family.{{cite web|title=Rajie Cook, Who Helped Make Sense of Public Spaces, Dies at 90|last=Genzlinger|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/arts/rajie-cook-dead.html|first=Neil|work=The New York Times|date=February 25, 2021|accessdate=February 25, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Signage & Bluegrass|url=https://buckscountymag.com/signage-bluegrass/|publisher=Bucks County Magazine|date=June 16, 2017|last=Ragan|first=Margo|accessdate=February 25, 2021}} He was president of Cook and Shanosky Associates, a graphic design firm he founded in 1967. The firm produced all forms of corporate communications including: [Corporate Identity](/source/Corporate_Identity), [Advertising](/source/Advertising), [Signage](/source/Signage), [Annual Reports](/source/Annual_report) and [Brochures](/source/Brochures). His graphic design and photography have been used by [IBM](/source/IBM), [Container Corporation of America](/source/Container_Corporation_of_America), [Montgomery Ward](/source/Montgomery_Ward), [Bristol Myers Squibb](/source/Bristol_Myers_Squibb), [Black & Decker](/source/Black_%26_Decker), [Volvo](/source/Volvo), [Subaru](/source/Subaru), [AT&T](/source/AT%26T), [New York Times](/source/New_York_Times), [Bell Atlantic](/source/Bell_Atlantic), [BASF](/source/BASF), [Lenox](/source/Lenox_(company)), and a number of other major international corporations. He received the Presidential Award for Design Excellence from president [Ronald Reagan](/source/Ronald_Reagan) and [Elizabeth Dole](/source/Elizabeth_Dole) on January 30, 1984 in the Indian Treaty Room of the [Old Executive Office Building](/source/Old_Executive_Office_Building) in Washington, DC. Juries under the auspices of the National Endowments chose the thirteen winners of the Federal Design Achievement Awards for the Arts. thumb|right|300px|Symbols Signs representing, from left, "Escalator (up)," "Nursery" and "Ground transportation" designed by Cook and Shanosky for the US Department of Transportation. In 2003, [Symbols Signs](/source/DOT_pictograms), a project designed by his firm for the [US Department of Transportation](/source/US_Department_of_Transportation), was accepted by the Acquisitions Committee to the collections of [Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum](/source/Cooper-Hewitt%2C_National_Design_Museum), and [The Smithsonian Institution](/source/The_Smithsonian_Institution). Cook was a graduate of the [Pratt Institute](/source/Pratt_Institute) and in 1997 was selected as Alumni of the year, and has also served on the Pratt Advisory Board. He has been a member of the [American Institute of Graphic Arts](/source/American_Institute_of_Graphic_Arts). He died in [Newtown, Pennsylvania](/source/Newtown%2C_Bucks_County%2C_Pennsylvania), on February 6, 2021. == Sculptural assemblages == thumb|right|''All Flights Cancelled'', sculptural assemblage, 2006 Inspired in part by the work of [Joseph Cornell](/source/Joseph_Cornell), Cook has turned to sculptural assemblage. {{Cquote|In 1999, after 46 years as a graphic designer, I found time to explore this new medium, sculptural "assemblage". The inspiration and opportunity to explore this mode of artistic expression comes at a time when my commercial career has sufficiently matured so that I can apply my skills, experiences, and a lifetime of artistic perspective to create "statements" with these assemblages. Most of my "raw" materials come from private collections, my own photography, flea markets, and antique shops, where I spend hours searching for items that inspire use in my boxes. My process, using these "found" materials, feels to me much like theater. As in the legitimate stage, I work within a three-dimensional form to portray the comedy or tragedy of life. I create these miniature, silent, "theaters" to express my feelings about a range of subjects. The three-dimensional objects I construct, using the found and fabricated objects (my "Thespians"), are a series of "performances" that share my deepest feelings with my audience. }} Many of the “Boxes” that he has created are an expression of the artist’s deeply felt concern for human rights and for the tragic conditions in the Middle East. They were created to articulate the circumstances and experiences he encountered during the ten years he has served on the Task Force for the Middle East, a group sponsored by the [Presbyterian Church (USA)](/source/Presbyterian_Church_(USA)). With this group he has traveled on fact-finding trips to [Israel](/source/Israel), [Jordan](/source/Jordan), and Palestine ([West Bank](/source/West_Bank) and [Gaza](/source/Gaza_Strip)). One such sculpture was exhibited as part of the exhibition ''Made in Palestine'' at the [Station Museum of Contemporary Art](/source/Station_Museum_of_Contemporary_Art) in 2003.{{Cite book |last=Kerschen |first=Tex |title=Made in Palestine |publisher=Ineri Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=0965945812 |location=Texas |pages=33, 90}} == Early and personal life == Rajie Sulaiman Cook ({{langx|ar| راجي سليمان كوك }}) was born in 1930 to [Palestinian Christian](/source/Palestinian_Christian) parents Jalila Totah ({{langx|ar| جليلة طوطح }}) and Najeeb Esa Cook ({{langx|ar| نجيب عيسى كوك}}), who came from [Ramallah](/source/Ramallah). His parents immigrated from the Mandate of Palestine to the United States in 1927. The family’s original surname was Sulaiman, however his grandfather was nicknamed Küçük (small) by [Ottoman Turkish](/source/Ottoman_Turkey) personnel, which was Anglicized to Cook under the [British Mandate for Palestine](/source/British_Mandate_for_Palestine).https://www.arabnews.com/node/2535651/amp https://electronicintifada.net/content/all-boxed-interview-palestinian-american-artist-rajie-cook/5415 https://www.visuallymagazine.com/post/rajie-cook-and-the-icons-that-shape-our-world After an elementary school teacher told Rajie that his name was too difficult to pronounce, Rajie became known as Roger, a name he was referred to until he re-embraced Rajie in his older years. Rajie met his wife of 65 years, Margit "Peggy" Schneider, in 1944. She was, as he wrote, "a woman of intelligence and integrity, the kind of life companion who would explore this path I wanted to follow with me." Rajie and Peggy devoted their lives to their love of modern design; in 1969 they moved with their daughters Cyndi and Cathie to a Bauhaus-inspired glass and stone home they built in the woods of [Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania](/source/Washington_Crossing%2C_Pennsylvania). Rajie was an avid tennis player, a brave bee keeper, and accomplished bluegrass musician. Cook died in 2021 of [myelodysplastic syndrome](/source/myelodysplastic_syndrome) in hospice at Chandler Hall in [Newtown, Pennsylvania](/source/Newtown_Township%2C_Bucks_County%2C_Pennsylvania).https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/rajie-roger-cook-graphic-designer-middle-east-obituary-20210315.html ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == * [http://www.rajie.org Roger's Website] featuring more of his box assemblies. * [http://www.aiga.org/symbol-signs/ DOT pictograms (symbol signs)] * [http://funwithstuff.com/dswmedia/airport.html Airport] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816140120/http://funwithstuff.com/dswmedia/airport.html |date=2018-08-16 }}, an animated film made from AIGA pictograms * [http://www.albustanseeds.org/displaced/rajie-cook/ Narrative], expression of identity in transition, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture project. {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Roger}} Category:1930 births Category:2021 deaths Category:American graphic designers Category:20th-century American photographers Category:American people of Palestinian descent Category:Pratt Institute alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rajie Cook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajie_Cook) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajie_Cook?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.