Informal design and advertising discussion with UFGD alum Carl Byrd, founder of Carl Byrd & Co. in NYC. The location of the talk is the SAAH Salon.

Link- http://carlbyrdco.com/

Carl Byrd graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Graphic Design in 1989. Over two decades later, this Gator is an award-winning creative director behind many ground breaking and iconic fashion campaigns for some of the biggest retail brands in the world. Carl’s work for brands such as Gap, Target and Macy’s have helped shape the modern view of fashion advertising. In the 90’s, Carl was co-creator of the innovative Gap campaign that made the world dance with Khakis Swing. That ad is in the AICP’s permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art. And to this day, the entertaining Gap dancing/singing campaigns of the 1990s as well as the iconic white background have influenced how fashion brands advertise.

At the millennium, Carl worked at PMH Advertising in Minneapolis and created award-winning bullseye centric campaigns for Target. He also launched many innovative designer brands for Target such as Isaac Mizrahi, Liz Lange and Stephen Sprouse.

In 2005, Carl moved to New York and returned to be the creative director on Gap at Laird + Partners. There, Carl created more iconic work like “The Skinny Black Pant” starring Audrey Hepburn with music by AC/DC, as well as “The Boyfriend Trouser” spot with Claire Danes and Patrick Wilson featuring "Anything You Can Do" as its soundtrack. Finally, he launched the innovative Gap(RED) campaign for Bono shot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz which on it’s Oprah Winfrey Show debut lodged the single highest sales day in Gap’s history.

In 2007, Carl’s career took a new turn when he started CarlByrd&Co, his boutique ad agency in NYC. Carl has continued to create breakthrough work for his many fashion clients, and has directed hundreds of commercials. Approaching it’s ten year anniversary, Carl and his agency have created campaigns and content for dozens of brands including Gap, Macy’s, Le SportSac, Brahmin, Loft, Who What Wear and Amazon. Through the years, Carl has always celebrated the brand next door, made pop culture his vocation and optimism his currency. All the while, he has been crafting and creating a populist aesthetic with a graphic designer’s trained eye.

In the last few years, he has turned his attention toward making films as well. Dinner at 40, was Carl’s first foray into narrative filmmaking. The 20-minute gay romantic comedy won awards at several LBGT film festivals in 2014. Currently, Carl is in post-production on his next short film “Dance With Me” and pre-production on his first feature film “Marc Jacobs is My Father.”

Discussion with Carl Byrd, UFGD alum from NYC