New International Design 'SUMMIT' Fosters Global Design Perspective to Make a Local Difference

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco design firm, Markatos Moore, announces the launch of SUMMIT, an annual International Design Program that will select American graphic design students to travel internationally in search of design solutions to challenges in their own communities.

SUMMIT kicks off in June, traveling this year to The Netherlands. The students will spend nine days in Amsterdam and Utrecht, meeting with top designers at renowned Dutch firms and immersed in that country's rich design culture. Upon returning to California, each student will complete a project that is their proposed solution to an issue or problem they see in their local or broader communities. The results of their inspired efforts will be shared at two public gallery showings in Los Angeles and San Francisco in September.

"We wanted to find a way to give back to our community and inspire the next generation of designers to grasp what they can accomplish in the world through great design," says Co-Founder Peter Markatos. "It's not just about logos, it's about ideas and progress," he adds.

Participants will be chosen based on their proposed design projects by a jury of well-regarded San Francisco Bay Area designers that includes Joshua Chen of Chen Design, Kit Hinrichs of Studio Hinrichs, Joel Templin and Katie Jain of Hatch, Steve Tolleson of Tolleson Design, and Ben Pham of Character, along with Peter Markatos and Tyler Moore of Markatos Moore.

"SUMMIT is an incredible gift and will create a valuable resource for design students all over the world," said Henri Lucas, award-winning designer and Design Media Arts Chair at UCLA. "Markatos Moore's commitment to design and design education, furthering our understanding about how great design can contribute to our society in meaningful ways, is forward-thinking and vital."

About SUMMIT

SUMMIT is a 9-day intensive program geared towards positively enriching students into a world perspective through design. This program offers college-level design students the opportunity to embark on an international academic journey each summer to a wide variety of countries. SUMMIT focuses on one country each year and immerses itself into that culture's design history and current visual vocabulary, and enlists the participation of design firms that are producing positive work. SUMMIT will travel to The Netherlands the summer of 2010, Japan in 2011 and Brazil in 2012. For more information about SUMMIT, please visit www.mm-summit.org.

About Markatos Moore

Founded in 2005 by Peter Markatos and Tyler Moore, Markatos Moore is a San Francisco based graphic design firm specializing in brand identity, print, packaging, motion, interactive and environmental design with a focus on building distinct brands. For more information about Markatos Moore, please visit www.mm-sf.com.

SOURCE Markatos Moore