We are the design firm that does more than design. Our work includes conceptualization, writing, and production for identities, magazines, catalogs, sign programs, and capital campaigns; we are creating print ads, writing magazine articles, developing and marketing educational materials, and making fine art.
Firm principal Ellen Shapiro, graphic designer and writer, is a graduate of UCLA's College of Fine Arts. She was art director for the UCLA Alumni and Development Center before coming to New York to assist design legend Herb Lubalin at Lubalin, Smith, Carnase Inc., the world's most celebrated typo-graphics agency.
After its founding in 1978, her New York City firm, Shapiro Design Associates Inc., became one of the most respected design offices in the U.S. After more than 20 years in Manhattan, we are now Visual Language LLC, based in the picturesque 'Rivertowns' area of Westchester County, New York.
Ellen Shapiro
Professional member, AIGA, the Professional Organization for Design. Former vice president, AIGA/NY; Current board member and communications chair, AIGA/Metro-North.
Faculty in communication design and typography at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, School of Visual Arts, Purchase College, SUNY.
Conference speaker and design competition judge.
80+ design awards from leading professional organizations and publications.
BA, UCLA College of Fine Arts, magna cum laude.
Author, Clients and Designers (Watson-Guptill, 1990) The Graphic Designer's Guide to Clients (Allworth, 2003) and more than 100 magazine articles on design. Contributing editor, Print magazine, Communication Arts.
To read Ellen's posts about trends, issues and personalities in design, illustration, photography, and visual culture around the world, please follow these links to Imprint, Print magazine's online design conversation, and Salon.com.
Photo by Alex Federov
ellen@visualanguage.net
914.693.7799
Visual Language LLC
25 Whitetail Road
Irvington, New York 10533
We serve clients in:
The Arts
Consulting
Education
Financial Services
Food
Healthcare
Professional Services
Real Estate
Retail
Technology
Travel
We provide:
Graphic Design
Art Direction
Writing
Branding
Market Research
We create:
Ads
Annual reports and quarterlies
Blogs
Books
Brand identities
Capability brochures
Direct mail packages
Directories
Educational materials
Fundraising tools
Logotypes
Magazines and newsletters
Product/service brochures
Proposal formats
Stationery systems
Web sites
Selected client list:
Academy for Jewish Religion
American Baptist Extension Corporation (ABEC)
American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
American Technion Society
Andron Construction Corporation
Benchmark Education
Big Apple Baseball
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Boundless Technologies, Inc.
Century Time, Ltd.
Cerecor Inc.
The City College of New York
Condé Nast
Contrafect Corp.
Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B)
Estreich & Company, Inc.
Fantazia Fine Custom Knitwear
The Guggenheim Museum
Institute for Mental Health Initiatives
L&S Rare Coins
M. Robert Goldman & Company, Inc.
MarketPlayer.com
Newmark Realty Capital
The New Yorker's Cartoon Bank
Professional Children's School
Riviera
Robert Louis Stevenson School
Studio 3 Occhiali
Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan Association of Irvington
Teleservices Jamaica Ltd.
Turn-Key Biotechnology
Union for Reform Judaism
Union Square Partnership
