Alan Jacobson, Founder
As president of research and design firm ex;it, Alan has designed for clients such as: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Johnson & Johnson, SAP, University Hospitals Cleveland, Kaiser Permanente, University of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Merrill Lynch, MetLife, Glaxo Smith Kline, and Sutter Health.
The research and design firm ex;it is a model for working with clients in an innovative way to improve the quality of design. The firm practices a holistic approach to environmental graphic design, “touchpointing” new thinking about how humans engage and communicate in their surroundings. Alan also recently co-founded, BAJ Design, focusing on identity and publication design and most recently art directing a brand new Philadelphia magazine “Two One Five”.
Alan has always pushed to raise standards and help pioneer fresh approaches to environmental design. He lectures at international conferences and universities on touchpointing, wayfinding, and environmental graphic design that work to improve the human experience. In 2006, he authored a chapter on “wayfinding in healthcare environments,” Wayfinding; Designing and Implementing Graphic Navigational Systems (Rotovision).
Alan’s efforts to build humane communities reach as far as Africa. As founder of ex;it foundation, he leads various community arts and health initiatives in a genocide survivor villages in central Rwanda. To raise funds for the program, he climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2007. AIGA XCD is currently hosting a new blog authored by Alan called “Finding Your Rwanda”.
Alan won the SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Design) international design Honor Award twice for his work in healthcare environment design and his community-building work in Rwanda. He chaired the SEGD national design conference, The Power of the Individual. He has served as Juror for the Cincinnati Design Awards.
As a featured speaker at the congress of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA) in Cuba, Alan spoke to the topic of “Improving the Human Condition through Sustainable Design”. He also spoke to the same topic at the AIGA NY Cause and Effect.
A sincere commitment to finding new ways to integrate career and community has lead Alan to a current position as the Board President of the internationally recognized Village of Arts and Humanities in Philadelphia. He also serves as a board member of Golden Slipper Camp serving 650 deserving children each summer.
