Milwaukee Art Museum Announces New Creative Director

Milwaukee, Wis. – Jan. 5, 2016 – The Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to announce the hiring of Casie Simpson as creative director. In this newly created role, Simpson will work with the Museum’s leadership team to develop a comprehensive brand identity that will captivate and engage Museum audiences and deepen community connections. She will also oversee the design department. Simpson brings a wealth of graphic design and management experience to the Museum, including her most recent work as creative director for the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville.

“Casie brings to us invaluable experience in graphic design, creative direction, brand development and digital marketing,” said Marcelle Polednik, PhD, Donna and Donald Baumgartner director. “The entire team is excited to work with Casie as we develop a more confident, engaging and dynamic visual representation of our institution, one that reflects and complements the multi-faceted, energetic artistic program of the Milwaukee Art Museum. We hope to reimagine the Museum’s creative approach in a way that allows us to share our passion for the visual arts with a broader audience and the entire community.”

Simpson operated her own design studio for nearly five years before joining MOCA Jacksonville. As creative director at MOCA Jacksonville she executed a comprehensive rebrand, including logo, print, environmental, video and website designs. This initiative included redefining the institution’s voice in a fun and inviting way, and implementing an innovative approach to digital marketing. With a redesigned website rich in content and multimedia assets, Simpson was able to develop and increase an important grant partnership with Google. The fresh identity and marketing strategy helped increase web sessions by nearly 50 percent and increase visitorship by 28 percent over the first six months. She was also recognized in Print Magazine’s 2013 Regional Design Annual for promotional materials related to an exhibition titled, SLOW: Marking Time in Photography and Film.

Simpson started her career at a boutique marketing agency in Chicago, closerlook, inc., working on noted brands including Accenture and Kodak. She earned a BFA in graphic design in 2005 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Simpson will start at the Museum Jan. 18.

About the Milwaukee Art Museum

Home to a rich collection of more than 30,000 works of art, the Milwaukee Art Museum is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Its campus includes the Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, annually showcasing three feature exhibitions, and the Eero Saarinen–designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center and David Kahler‒designed addition. The Museum recently reopened its Collection Galleries, debuting nearly 2,500 world-class works of art within dramatically transformed galleries and a new lakefront addition. This reimagined space also allows for the presentation of additional changing exhibitions.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.