Experiential design / Placemaking / Public art / Creative strategy
Collaborating with cultural, civic, and design innovators to create memorable places, intriguing experiences, and uncommon stories.
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Bruce Willen is a multidisciplinary designer, artist, and the founder of Public Mechanics — a design studio working in public and cultural spaces. Bruce collaborates with civic, arts, and design innovators on projects that jaywalk through the intersection of experiential design, placemaking, public art, and civic design.
Bruce co-founded the acclaimed design agency Post Typography where he led high-profile branding, digital, public art, and experiential design projects that have shaped the visual language of Baltimore and the sustainable building industry. He is the co-author of the book Lettering & Type and has written for the Washington Post, Design Observer, and other publications. Bruce’s designs and illustrations have appeared on multiple covers of Time Magazine, The New York Times, and ESPN, among others. His work has received numerous fancy-pants design awards and has been published in dozens of design periodicals and books from Phaidon, Taschen, and Rizzoli, as well as a Post Typography monograph from European publisher Pyramyd Éditions. He has spoken at the Cooper Union, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, and Harvard University among many others.
As part of his interdisciplinary practice, Bruce composes and performs music and sound art, including several new silent-film scores. With the instrumental duo Peals, Bruce has performed in clock towers, museums, and living rooms on multiple continents and has released recordings with legendary indie label Thrill Jockey Records. Prior to Peals, Bruce contributed to Baltimore’s music scene for nine years as a member of the influential post-punk band Double Dagger, subject of the 2013 documentary film If We Shout Loud Enough.
Have an interesting project?
hi@brucewillen.com
