Timeline

1978

Judy Kirpich - Grafik Founder - 1978

Judy Kirpich

This is our founder, throwing shade long before that term even existed, and shortly after starting Grafik with co-founder Alex Berry. But then, she was always ahead of her time—creating a woman-owned, woman-friendly workplace valuing work/life balance and great, great work. So great, when the AIGA chose designers to graphically depict a year for its centennial celebration, Judy was one of the 100 honorees.
See her centennial piece.

1980

Regina Esposito, Senior Production Manager, singing on stage

Born to rock

Senior Production Manager Regina Esposito’s band, The Young Professionals, opens for Duran Duran’s first D.C. show.

Listen to their greatest hit.

1985

GIF from Weird Science movie

Our Wave of the Future poster lands a cameo in Weird Science.

1988

Picture of old macintosh computer

Grafik invests $15,000 in new technology—our first two Macs.

(Complete with beautiful black & white displays.)

1994

Colorful gif of nfl logo

We rebrand the NFLPA, introducing several art directors to the concept of football.

1996

Image of html code for Grafik.com

Grafik.com goes live. Takes less than 2 minutes to load on dial-up.

2000

Lynn Umemoto, Principal, rafting with her husband and a friend

Lynn and Heath discover how long they can hold their breath underwater during company whitewater rafting outing.

2004

Mason Patriots logo on basketball court

Thrilled to have our work for George Mason University Athletics stepped on repeatedly.

2005

Hand prints on glass in a circle formation - branding for the National Museum of the American Indian.

Our extremely hands-on relationship with the Smithsonian hits a new high with branding for the National Museum of the American Indian.

2007

Advertisement for Tapas Bars in Lynchburg, Virginia

After driving traffic to arenas and museums, we tackled an entire city: Lynchburg, VA.

2009

Grafik logo timeline gif

Sometimes we work on our own stuff, too.

2013

Former first chair gong player in a gamelan orchestra joins Grafik, introduces new way to make office announcements.

2014

Strings forming a circle

Judy assumes an emeritus position; our send-off nets more than $15K for AIGA’s Design Continuum Scholarship Fund.

2015

Grafik employee on a zipline

Zipline outing brings new meaning to the term “tree hugger.”

TODAY

Photograph of the Grafik

Celebrating #Grafik40

We’re highlighting some of our most iconic endeavors from decades past as part of our 40th Anniversary celebration.
Follow along here.