Syrie Maugham
INTERIOR DESIGNER (1879 - 1955)
Syrie Maugham was an interior designer,
known for her white rooms. In 1922 she
opened her own interior decorating business,
which flourished, getting projects in California
and leading to shops in London and New
York. Maugham brought mirrored screens and
indirect lighting into popularity, and inspired
almost many designers, particularly Elsie de
Wolfe and Frances Elkins. Her aesthetic
advocated for glamorous interiors, styled for
ease and comfort. Furniture was her specialty,
and she often used older 18th century pieces
she was not afraid to alter to fit a more
modern style.
April Greiman
GRAPHIC DESIGNER (1948 - present)
April Greiman is a graphic designer. She was
considered one of the first designers to
incorporate digital media, seeing its vast
potential, and quickly established herself as a
pioneer of digital communication design. This
placed her at the helm of integrated design at
the close of the twentieth century. At CalArts
in 1984 she lobbied successfully to change
the department name to Visual
Communications, arguing the term "graphic
design" was limiting for future designers. She
integrated video and analogue computers,
having a mixed media approach, foreseeing it
would have a place in everyday design
practice. She is the recipient of numerous
awards and has exhibited her work all over
the world.
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