In 1984, Isley joined Tibor Kalman's influential M & Co. as senior designer. He held this position until 1987, when he joined Spy Magazine in 1987 as the first full-time art director. At Spy, he was tasked with building upon Steven Doyle's initial formatting and was awarded gold and silver medals from the Society of Publication Designers.[2][5] In 1988, he founded Alexander Isley Inc. in New York City.[6] In 1995, Isley moved the studio to Redding, Connecticut.[2] The studio has worked on branding projects for Youth Service America, Armani Jeans and Goodwill, among others.[7]
In 2004, Isley became the president of AIGA New York and an AIGA Fellow in 2013 after being a board member from 1988 to 1990.[2][8][9]
In addition to his professional career, Isley taught Design and Typography at the School of Visual Arts from 1988 to 1990; Exhibit Design at the Cooper Union in 1992; and was a Critic and Lecturer at Yale from 1996 to 2011.[10]
Honors and awards
Terry Sanford Scholarship to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, 1979[11]
The Alexander Isley Papers [16] at the Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, covers Isley’s full career and includes initial concept explorations, original artwork, completed materials, and correspondence. An extensive selection of Isley’s poster designs are in the collection of the Museum of Design, Zürich.
Bibliography
Bos, Ben and Bos, Elly. AGI: Graphic Design Since 1950, Thames and Hudson, 2007. ISBN0500513422