Locals Putting Columbus on the Global Design Map

By Jennifer Sadler

Design is all around us. All of the objects you see—cars, buildings, billboards, ads in magazines—every article of clothing you’re wearing, even the bed in which you sleep are the result of a design process.

Design is about communication. It is a powerful tool that can be used to influence people's perception of whatever is being presented—a company, organization, product or place. Design can introduce and educate people about a cause, problem or solution. It can help create an emotional connection around a subject to bring people together and inspire them to think and to act.

GCAC researched and spoke with two local design-related companies, DesignGroup and leftchannel, to provide some insight into projects and design approaches, and to discuss the positive impact their work has not only on the local community, but also on Columbus’ reputation in the world of design.

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PERSPECTIVE: Local Designers Keo Khim and Claude-Wayne Cossin

By Jennifer Sadler and Anne Shackleford

Keo Khim

Diverse, reflective, cohesive—this is how Keo Khim describes his graphic design style, but you could just as well describe him with those words.

A graphic designer and master artist in GCAC’s Art in the House and TRANSIT ARTS programs, Khim is also owner of  KKDesigns, a multimedia, graphic design company with clients that have included the likes of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, the Wexner Center for the Arts, the Columbus Museum of Art, Post Comedy Theatre, and Youth to Youth International.  GCAC spoke recently with Khim about his design process, and the challenges and opportunities in design.

GCAC: Tell us about yourself and your work as a graphic designer. How did you get interested in the field?

Khim: You know—I was always very inquisitive growing up. I was one of those kids—still am—that took things apart in pieces just to figure out how they worked. So I fell in love with computers at a young age but still, I didn’t want to let go of my innate calling to be artistic.

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Claude-Wayne Cossin

Sometime between the first aria and the final curtain, you notice the dresses. Not just the dresses, but the shawls, the shoes, the suspenders—everything from the carefully chosen plaids to the period-appropriate cufflinks become integral to viewing enjoyment and characterization when you watch a good opera. Strong voices need strong styling—just ask Claude-Wayne Cossin, Wardrobe manager for Opera Columbus and a fashion and costume designer. We picked his brain recently to discover more about his work and inspirations.

GCAC: Tell us a bit about yourself and your work as a fashion and costume designer.

Cossin: I consider myself much more of a costume designer rather than a fashion designer based primarily in the fact that all my fashion designs invariably look too “costume-y.”

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