Margo Chase became a graphic designer almost by accident. In college, Chase was determined to become a veterinarian and in an attempt to get a higher GPA, signed up for a graphic design course. She discovered her love of solving problems creatively and attempted to combine her two loves of science and design by getting a masters degree in medical illustration. Chase realized she wouldn’t have the creative freedom she wanted and dropped out of school to become a full time designer. Some of her first jobs were designing album covers and typefaces for Geffen Records, Columbia, Warner Brothers, and Capitol Records. She worked on album typography for Madonna, Prince, Cher, Bonnie Raitt, and Selena, even winning a Grammy for her work on Cher’s album Love Hurts. Her bold, goth calligraphic style got her noticed as the queen of goth, and she was hired to design logos for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as well as for Francis Ford Coppola’s film Dracula. Chase’s reputation got the best of her. She wanted to break away from the entertainment industry and the ‘Queen of Goth’ label. She and her team began branding for corporate businesses such as Target, and did package designs for Califia Farms, KIND, Chinese Laundry, Kama Sutra, and Campbell Soup Co. Margo Chase pushed the boundaries of what a designer could do, and always made it her mission to create the best work she could to put out into the world. 

TIMELINE

1958 –  b Los Angeles, California
1986 –  opened her own studio, Chase Design Group
1991 –  designed Bonnie Raitt’s record cover, “Luck of the Draw.”
1992  –  Victory Records Ten Inch Men’s “Pretty Vultures” cover
1998 –  created typefaces for projects such as Evolution and Shiraz
2007 –  became an aerobatic pilot
2017 –  d Apple Valley, California

REFERENCES

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