Member Spotlight: Nancy Sharon Collins

We’ve kicking off a new online content series spotlighting our members for their contributions and various accolades in the design industry. September features the venerable Nancy Sharon Collins, our Special Projects Director.

Nancy has been a permanent fixture on the AIGA board and in the design industry of Louisiana. Presently, she serves the board as Special Project Director, overseeing the Louisiana Design History project and collecting oral histories from among the design community at large. She also teaches graphic design and typography at Delgado Community College and graphic design history at Loyola University.

Mrs. Collins is most renowned and celebrated for her work with engraving, stationery, and typography. She writes at length about engraving and stationery every chance she can get–and we enjoy it immensely! Thankfully, Nancy has penned a guide to quench your thirst of engraving, should you have it: The Complete Engraver: A Guide to Monograms, Crests, Ciphers, Seals, and the Etiquette and History of Social Stationery. This hardcover edition is currently available on bookshelves today (August 28!) Her book was also recently featured in the design section of the online New York Times Style Magazine.

We’re thrilled for Nancy’s published work to be seen by all; and in celebration of her book, she has mounted enormously successful Kickstarter project, aptly named Engraving for Nerds: The Book Tour, which was also recently a Featured Pick of the Day among the Kickstarter staff. Thankfully, she was able to raise all of her funding and more, so Nancy will be able to educate the masses about what engraving means and why they must wholeheartedly love it.

“Today, Nancy Sharon Collins brings crisp wit and undying love to one of history’s most spirited printing processes. As the letterpress revival grips designers in its leaden thrall, we might ready ourselves to receive engraving’s lighter touch.” — Ellen Lupton

Indeed, Ellen Lupton, indeed. We agree wholeheartedly. You can ready yourself to “receive engraving’s lighter touch” for Nancy’s book tour this fall, which makes a stop here in New Orleans on Sunday, October 21. Visit our Events page for more details on the book signing event and other events and to follow Nancy’s book tour around the country, visit engraving4nerds.com.

You can learn more about Nancy Sharon Collins at her website, as well as enjoy two free fonts developed by Monotype Imaging in honor of engraving and Nancy’s book, The Complete Engraver.

Want to be featured on our monthly Member Spotlight? First, you must be an AIGA member, and second, send us an email, at communications@neworleans.aiga.org, telling us about your latest endeavors and why you should be spotlighted!

By Samantha Barnes
Published August 28, 2012