Burr Ridge resident honored with design award

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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:18AM

Google Burr Ridge resident Robert Vogele and terms like “local legend” and “internationally recognized” will appear.

It’s no wonder he soon will receive his industry’s highest honor.

Vogele, who moved to Burr Ridge a few years ago after 50 years in Western Springs, is considered a pioneer in the field of design and will be honored as such when he receives the highest award in the field in April. Vogele will be honored with an AIGA Medal from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the professional association for design based in New York.

The AIGA Medal is awarded each year to an individual who has made a notable and significant impact on the practice of design throughout their lifetime. Fewer than 150 people have received the medal since it was first introduced in 1920.

Vogele said he was humbled by the news that he would receive the honor.

“I was thrilled,” he said, especially since he believes many people in the field of design don’t consider him a designer at all.

While his companies — Vogele Design, also known as RVI Corp., and VSA Partners — focused on creating corporate identities through creative design, Vogele became a businessman who helped companies use design as a money-making tool.

“My role was really to plan the development of the business and to mentor the people who service the clients and actually create the financial success,” he said.

Vogele shared his philosophy of design’s role in business with individuals who are now running his company, and with many who have gone on to start their own design firms.

When Vogele founded Vogele Design in 1951, X-acto knives, wax machines and typesetters were the tools of the trade.

“The tools have changed,” said Vogele, but his philosophy and focus never waned.

Vogele Design (RVI Corp.), founded in 1958, grew to become one of the most respected design firms in the country. In 1982, he founded VSA Partners, a company that lists IBM, Nike, Harley-Davidson, P&G, GAP, Caterpillar and GE among its many clients.

The initials VSA represent Vogele and his partners, Ted Stoik and Dana Arnett. Vogele said the letters have a second, perhaps more important, meaning.

“You start with Vision of the client, develop a Strategy and put it into Action,” he said.

The AIGA Medal, to be awarded to Vogele in New York on April 19, represents his contribution to design and his ongoing development of the profession through the many professionals he has mentored.

The event will include a review of his professional career achievements, a collection of his work and a video. Vogele’s name will be permanently inscribed on the roll of honor at AIGA’s National Design Center.

“It is an honor to both recognize and thank those who have the broad shoulders of creativity and experiences on which the next generation can stand, Richard Grefe, AIGA executive director, said in announcing Vogele’s selection as this year’s honoree. “Mr. Vogele’s contribution to this vital profession has been stunning and probably far more influential than you will ever imagine.”