Keith Godard

Keith Godard (1938-2020) was an award-winning graphic designer, a distinguished practitioner in the fields of public art and exhibition design for over four decades. He strived to make people see ideas in a different way, to surprise yourself and others, and to expand the notion of graphic design—of what it is and what it can be. And to be a Renaissance Man.

In the mid-1970s to mid-1980s he worked with Hans van Dijk and Stephanie Tevonian and established StudioWorks in 1986, which specialized in public installation, wayfinding and exhibition design. In 2018, Godard did the exhibition design for Look Look Look A Playful Book at Center for Book Arts. He designed other notable exhibitions for: the United Nations, Manhattan Children’s Museum, the Jewish Museum, Brooklyn Bridge Centennial, the Brooklyn Transit Museum. Godard’s art and design works are also displayed from the 23rd Street Subway Station to the collections of various universities and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.

Godard was involved in the design community as an active member of AIGA and AGI and was also a beloved educator. He taught Graphic Design and Graphic Design History, lecturing at various institutions, including California Institute of the Arts, Philadelphia College of Art, School of Visual Arts, Cooper Union and FIT and is credited, alongside Louis Danziger, with setting the standard for contemporary graphic design history courses in the US.

Godard also produced a number of excellent children’s artist books including Glue Glue, Sounds, A Little Night Book, Book Mates, and Hold Up.