There was a time in the not-too-distant past—perhaps even as recent as the late 1990s—when naming 21 individuals as “the” emerging talents in design might have been a relatively simple process. You could hold up a finger and easily determine which way the wind was blowing, in every­thing from prevailing styles and forms to most-sought-after client roster to favored typefaces. Overlay these standards on young talent to find who fit the bill, and you’d have your list.

Today, graphic design—like the culture it reflects and serves—is a moving target. No longer a homogenous profession with a clear shortlist of superstars, the industry has fragmented in myriad directions—philosophically, aesthetically, technologically. What we regard as graphic design today is certainly not what I studied in art school.

Taking over the curating of the STEP Emerging Talent List presented a challenge, not only because of the changing land­scape of graphic design, but because I am attempting to fill the shoes of Alice Twemlow, who has created this list for the past four years. I decided to approach the list by polling thought lead­ers, respected academics and talent spotters all over the coun­try, asking for recommendations of people they believe are doing especially interesting work. Designers, illustrators, photogra­phers, filmmakers, writers—I looked for creative people doing intriguing work with a strong voice.

It was an embarrassment of riches. I reviewed literally hun­dreds of candidates, trying to see what was happening in terms of geography, delivery media, concept, motivation and schools of thought. I wanted people doing new work in new ways for new audiences. I had to first evaluate based on my stated criteria, then consider something else: What is “emerging” anyway? The indi­viduals on my list couldn’t be “too emerged” or “not quite emerged yet.” They needed to be representative of where we are now, and where we might be going. Finally, I looked for people and work I personally responded to on an emotional level.

Once the selections were made, creating portraits that define and properly present the talent offered its own challenges. Many on the list are in the midst of forming (much less articulating) who they are as people and as artists. Though some were journal­ist-ready with tidy sound bites, many assembled statements about their work in real time as we spoke together. For several people, it was unnerving to have the spotlight suddenly turned on them, then participate in creating a distillation of themselves that with­out care could easily slide into cliché.

I tried to keep the focus on passionate people who are stretch­ing limits and pursuing creative excellence, the expression of which takes many forms. You won’t find any restriction based on age in this list. You’ll meet people who are designers in a tradi­tional sense and others who are not; those practicing in a single medium or context, and those active in multiple disciplines. Some are working in large corporate arenas, others are toiling in relative solitude. You’ll find pure image-makers (illustrators and photogra­phers) who collaborate with designers; abstract theorists and clas­sic typographers; multitaskers and the single-minded; renegades and traditionalists; pragmatists and dreamers. There are those working in support of the consumer society, others who work to further the idea of cool, and some who work to save the world. They give me hope and make me very happy about our future, however we end up defining it.

Meet STEP’s Emerging Talent for 2008.

Terry Lee Stone

Thanks very much to the people who made this list possible:
Sean Adams, Tom Biederbeck, Michael Bierut, Victor Bornia, Brian Boyl, Stefan G. Bucher, Maggy Cuesta, Stephanie Cunningham, Laura DesEnfants, Colin Drummond, Amy Gehrt, Denise Gonzales Crisp, Nik Hafermaas, Steven Heller, Andrew Keller, Barbara Maloutas, Joel Nakamura, Kali Nikitas, Matthew Porter, Robin Raye, Hank Richardson, Sarah Russin, Louise Sandhaus, Monica Schlaug, Tony Seddon, Christopher Simmons, Mike Strassburger, Jon Sueda, Gail Swanlund, Mark Todd, Alice Twemlow, Jennifer Visocky O’Grady, Armin Vit, Alissa Walker and Esther Pearl Watson