DJ Stout

Logos are overrated

In Episode #48, Ross is joined by DJ Stout, Partner at acclaimed international design consultancy Pentagram and principal of their Austin, Texas office.

In 1998 Stout was recognised as one of the “100 Most Important People in Photography.” He has also been selected for The I.D. Fifty – an annual listing of design innovators – and recognised as an AIGA Fellow for his exceptional contributions to the field of graphic design. He has authored three books – The Pictures of Texas Monthly Twenty-Five Years, The Amazing Tale of Mr. Herbert and his Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club, and Variations on a Rectangle–his forty-year design retrospective. 

Ross and DJ discuss why logos don’t matter, why he offers 30 or more logo options to his clients, and what Texas has taught him about building brands and telling stories.

More about DJ Stout

DJ Stout is one of 24 Partners of the acclaimed international design consultancy Pentagram and the Principal of the Austin, Texas office. Stout joined Pentagram as a partner in 2000. Pentagram, founded in London in 1972 by five designers, currently has four offices around the world.

In a special 1998 issue, American Photo magazine selected Stout as one of the “100 Most Important People in Photography.” In 2004 I.D. (International Design) magazine selected Stout for “The I.D. Fifty,” its annual listing of design innovators. In 2010 The Society of Illustrators honored Stout with the national Richard Gangel Art Director Award for his advocacy of illustration during his design career. Also in 2010 Stout was recognized as an AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Fellow Award recipient for his exceptional contributions to the field of graphic design. 

His design work is included in several national design collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Wittliff Collections, and the Cooper Hewitt–Smithsonian Design Museum.

Stout and his team specialize in the creation of brand identity and strategy, publication design, packaging and interactive solutions. 

Stout and his team have done work for high-profile companies and institutions like Microsoft Windows, Ruby Tuesday, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Walgreens, Lands’ End, L.L. Bean, Southwest Airlines, The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Contemporary Austin, The Houston Ballet, World Wildlife Fund, SkinCeuticals, Advanced Nutrients, Northwestern, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Middlebury, Loyola Marymount University, UC Berkley, The University of Colorado, Drexel and USC.

DJ is the author of three books; The Pictures of Texas Monthly Twenty-Five Years, The Amazing Tale of Mr. Herbert and his Fabulous Alpine Cowboys Baseball Club, and Variations on a Rectangle–his forty-year design retrospective.

Find DJ here: Instagram | Twitter