Ken Cato is an Australian graphic designer with an international reputation. Ken Cato’s prolific work encompasses all methods of corporate and brand management and design. He maintains a philosophy of design which is completely holistic and which provides the type of solutions which will always produce positive results. He has won many international design awards and his work is also represented in many museums and art galleries throughout the world. He is a pioneer of Australian designs and his company is the biggest design company in the southern hemisphere.
His decision to become a designer came after he had completed a four year diploma in design. He had always loved drawing and making things as a child and he still carries a pencil and a pad around wherever he goes and says he could perhaps have ended up as a carpenter or an architect.
About Ken Cato and His History
Ken Cato is often invited to speak at international symposia and is also an accomplished author who has written many books related to graphic design including ‘First Choice, Design for Business’, ‘The View From Australia’ and ‘Design by Thinking’. He is a foundation member of the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association.
Since the 1960s he has constantly challenged and has engaged the design field winning many awards and honours. He has constantly challenged traditional graphic design and has been at the forefront of creating experimental and concept driven methods of communication. He has worked with many clients including Grace Brothers, Coles, Bank West, Macquari Bank and Qantas. He has also worked in all areas of graphic design from packaging to creating major business identities and branding. His visual communication is absolutely stunning and pushes everyday design to experimental idea-driven methods of communication.
In 1970 after working on individual projects he started Cato-Hibbert Design Inc, with himself and Terry Hibbert. Money was tight, but work continued to come in steadily. In 972 Cato got his big break internationally when he visited studios in both Europe and the United States. He recognised his own company base lay in the Pacific basin and has now grown to offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Perth, London and Taipei.
In 1982 Cato felt that his business had grown well but had hit an impasse as he really wanted to break into international design. After 12 years he broke into Asia and gained 25 design jobs from 25 countries. He clients are international but he still remains in Australia.
In 2006 he was honoured with the Premier Award for Design leadership from the Premier of Victoria. He has also been a long standing member of Alliance Graphic Internationale and was a past AGI President. He was previously also awarded the first Australian Honorary Doctorate of Design and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the first Victorian Design Awards.
Ken Cato belongs to the American Institute of Graphic Arts, ICOGRADA, the Design Institute of Australia, the Australia Marketing Institute, the Industrial Design Council of Australia and is also a Patron of the Australian Academy of Design.
His ongoing passion is to get young people interested in good design.
‘My secret goal is to breed a bunch who will push for better design, aesthetically and functionally’ says Cato ‘Design is this little word that pretty much embraces all our lives’. (AgIdeas 2011 International Design Week May 1-5 Melbourne)
Ken Cato Logo Designing and Typography
