John Pobojewski

Design is rarely one thing. Sometimes it has to welcome people into a museum. Sometimes it has to help a village speak clearly. Sometimes it has to protect, remember, organize, celebrate, or make a newspaper feel newly necessary. Seven Span projects that work in those very different ways were selected for this year’s STA100 from the @typographic_arts . The recognized projects were: @intuitartmuseum — rebrand, website, campaign @chidesarc — brand, campaign LaGrange Park — brand, streetscape toolkit Help Stop Hate — rebrand, website, campaign @chicago_reader — rebrand, campaign @slowandlowfest — exhibition design @firstladycruises (Judge’s Choice) — rebrand, campaign Together, they say something about us at Span. We are interested in design that has to guide, welcome, persuade, clarify, celebrate, protect, remember, and hold up under actual use. The The Society of Typographic Arts (STA) has been around for 99 years, and STA100 honors 100 examples of typographic excellence from around the world each year. To have seven projects included is a real honor. Thank you to STA, the judges Dan Cederholm, Lisa McCormick, Damian Orellana, Lauren Hom, and Simon Walker. Every member of the Span team was recognized by the STA through these projects. Congratulations John Pobojewski, Valeria Bernal, Bud Rodecker, Alec Hudson, Nick Adam, Kevin Moreland, Zach Minnich, Nick Butcher, Wes Meador, Donna Speigel. And thank you to our clients, collaborators, printers, developers, and partners who helped make the work possible.

Heading into the weekend with a good one for you: our @johnpobojewski is the latest guest on The Design Of Podcast from @rule29 . The conversation touches something we believe deeply at Span: design is not just what you make for clients. The practice itself is a design assignment—shaped, refined, and rethought over time. As John puts it: “The business is also a design assignment. You’re constantly improving it and thinking about ways in which you can revise it. It’s not precious; it is in and of itself a living thing.” A thoughtful listen on creativity, leadership, and building work that can adapt, endure, and matter.

Identity doesn’t just live on the surface. It operates across culture, education, and civic life—shaping how institutions are encountered, understood, and trusted over time. On February 24, Span partners @johnpobojewski , @budrodecker , and @nickadam will speak at @mascontext Spring Talks 2026 on Identity as Infrastructure. Limited seating · RSVP required

Join us on February 24 for a lecture by @johnpobojewski , @budrodecker , and @nickadam , partners at @span_studio , a Chicago-based studio crossing the boundaries of communication design in all mediums. The event will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room. • • • At the heart of contemporary design is a fundamental question: How do visual systems shape the institutions and collective life that define a place? During this talk, partners John Pobojewski, Bud Rodecker, and Nick Adam of Span will examine design not as surface expression, but as a structural force that informs civic belief, cultural meaning, and institutional practice. Through a conversation grounded in recent work, the talk explores how identity systems operate as infrastructural frameworks, connecting audiences to ideas, anchoring organizations within their communities, and extending design’s impact beyond discrete objects into the shared fabric of public life. Case studies spanning cultural platforms, educational environments, and civic collaborations reveal how typographic systems, editorial structures, and visual languages shape perceptions of authority, belonging, and purpose. Rather than framing identity as a logo or brand asset, Span positions it as identity as a public system operating across cultural, institutional, and civic contexts. The talk invites designers, architects, and civic leaders to reconsider identity as a form of cultural construction—scaffolding shared meaning, institutional resilience, and participation over time. • • • Image: © Span. • • • #mascontext #span #johnpobojewski #budrodecker #nickadam

Thriving theatres, museums and galleries are critical to a city’s health – but staying relevant means being more creative and engaged with their communities. “As audiences demand change, it’s crucial that institutions and cities update their approaches in key ways, using design and branding to keep culture alive, relevant and irresistible,” says @johnpobojewski , partner and design director at @span_studio . Read further insight from Pobojewski on the CR site – link in bio. #design #visualculture #art

At @span_studio , we believe communication design can transcend a specific industry niche — it can inform an infinite spectrum of expressions, even those on stage. With The Capulets, we stretched those boundaries: our projection art became a character, space became narrative, visuals became voices. It’s been a privilege to partner with @Chicago Repertory Ballet and to push what stage design can be. Here’s to more projects where we don’t just design for print or screen, but to create moments that linger. Span design team: @johnpobojewski Zach Minnich #DesignStudio #SpanTeam #CreativeStudio #MotionDesign #SetDesign #StageArt #Ballet #Dance #ArtsInChicago #TheCapulets

Motion. Light. Emotion. For The Capulets, Span’s @johnpobojewski Pobojewski and Zach Minnich collaborated with choreographer and artistic director @wadeschaaf_official , costume designer Nathan Rohrer, lighting designer David Goodman-Edberg, and composer Matty Mattsson — weaving together a unified vision where projection, choreography, and costume exist as a single storytelling instrument. The projections respond, amplify, and elevate the dancers. They become the background, the mood, the unspoken truths between characters. And the press agrees! ”John Pobojewski and Zach Minnich’s designs help create the atmosphere of “The Capulets” and enrich the dancers’ storytelling movement itself.” @seechicagodance ”John Pobojewski and Zach Minnich fashioned ingenious digital sets that drew us in without sacrificing an inch of the dancers’ floor space.” — @buzznews #SpanStudio #BalletDesign #PerformanceDesign #TheCapulets #ChicagoDance #SetDesign #MotionGraphics #StageDesign #DanceVisuals

Where drama meets digital dreamscape We’re proud to unveil our projection design for The Capulets — a reimagined take on Romeo & Juliet by artistic director and choreographer @WadeSchaaf , brought to life by the @chicagorepertoryballet Led by @span ’s @johnpobojewski and Zach Minnich, this project was much more than just scenery. The visuals became a critical member of the cast — shaping mood, deepening relationships, and carrying the audience into an immersive world. From fractured interiors to dreamlike streets of “out-of-time” Verona — every image, shape, and motion was crafted with care, to reflect Lady Capulet’s perspective and the family’s unraveling. #SpanStudio #TheCapulets #ChicagoRepertoryBallet #ProjectionDesign #SetDesign #Dance #Ballet #DigitalArt #ImmersiveDesign

At Span were recently invited by @designmuseumchi to exhibit work in the Great Ideas of Humanity exhibition. This piece is from @johnpobojewski and Zach Minnich on Manal Al-Sharif In knowledge and the mind “How beautiful it is to live in a world with no walls.” Manal Al-Sharif Artist Statement Zach Minnich and John Pobojewski are part of Span, a studio crossing the boundaries of communication design in all mediums located in Chicago. Our work is focused on challenging expectations with wit, logic, and a playful spirit. Blending typographic discipline with fearless expression, we elevate the role of the visual message in both culture and community. Span takes the long view — in every gesture and every project. What is Great Ideas of Humanity? John Massey, former Container Corporation of America (CCA) head of design, encouraged the Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC) to reimagine the Great Ideas of Western Man campaign. DMoC happily obliged. DMoC reprise, Great Ideas of Humanity, embraces the increasing globalization of our world and celebrates the resulting cross-pollination of ideas, philosophies, societies, and cultures. Great Ideas of Humanity From 1950–1975, Chicago-based Container Corporation of America ran a campaign heralded as one of the best in advertising history, Great Ideas of Western Man. The world has changed since 1975, but great ideas are timeless. This response is organized by the Design Museum of Chicago, celebrating the enduring power of ideas through design.

Pillage Purge Plunder is a collection of 360 AI visualizations created by @johnpobojewski . All visualizations were across three different prompt themes — a photorealistic architectural rendering of a luxury villa, an sprawling metropolis, and satellite photos of untouched land. The body of work results from experiments with Stable Diffusion’s ControlNet and Midjourney’s Retexturing techniques. Pobojewski prompted Midjourney with original letterform drawings and selective prompts to retexture the images, resulting in the desired visual while maintaining the structure of the original drawing. Artist Statement Countries have been pursuing massive urban expansion for decades in response both to address exploding population growth and to attract billionaire investors. What do the visions for these megacities of tomorrow like Neom really suggest? These pursuits often exploit underpaid labor and sully natural environments through shortsighted construction and development practices. They use land that could house hundreds of families to build luxury developments for only an elite few. Design is tasked with visualizing and “selling” these projects, creating photorealistic visions of perfection that are so pervasive in our culture, they now seed the AI machines that make “art.” What impact are we leaving behind? Are we helping society steal from the present moment in order to feed the desire for a future that may never come? #chicagodesign #typography #typography

This Friday @johnpobojewski ’s piece ‘Pillage Purge Plunder’ makes its debut at the 13th @typeforce exhibition at @coprosperitychicago ‘Pillage Purge Plunder’ is a collection of 360 AI visualizations created by John Pobojewski. All visualizations were across three different prompt themes — a photorealistic architectural rendering of a luxury villa, an sprawling metropolis, and satellite photos of untouched land. The body of work results from experiments with Stable Diffusion’s ControlNet and Midjourney’s Retexturing techniques. Pobojewski prompted Midjourney with original letterform drawings and selective prompts to retexture the images, resulting in the desired visual while maintaining the structure of the original drawing. Artist Statement: Countries have been pursuing massive urban expansion for decades in response both to address exploding population growth and to attract billionaire investors. What do the visions for these megacities of tomorrow like Neom really suggest? These pursuits often exploit underpaid labor and sully natural environments through shortsighted construction and development practices. They use land that could house hundreds of families to build luxury developments for only an elite few. Design is tasked with visualizing and “selling” these projects, creating photorealistic visions of perfection that are so pervasive in our culture, they now seed the AI machines that make “art.” What impact are we leaving behind? Are we helping society steal from the present moment in order to feed the desire for a future that may never come?

We are excited to share that our @johnpobojewski ’s piece ‘Pillage Purge Plunder’ will be making its debut this Friday at the opening of the 13th @typeforce exhibition at @coprosperitychicago ‘Pillage Purge Plunder’ is a collection of 360 AI visualizations created by John Pobojewski. All visualizations were across three different prompt themes — a photorealistic architectural rendering of a luxury villa, an sprawling metropolis, and satellite photos of untouched land. The body of work results from experiments with Stable Diffusion’s ControlNet and Midjourney’s Retexturing techniques. Pobojewski prompted Midjourney with original letterform drawings and selective prompts to retexture the images, resulting in the desired visual while maintaining the structure of the original drawing. Artist Statement: Countries have been pursuing massive urban expansion for decades in response both to address exploding population growth and to attract billionaire investors. What do the visions for these megacities of tomorrow like Neom really suggest? These pursuits often exploit underpaid labor and sully natural environments through shortsighted construction and development practices. They use land that could house hundreds of families to build luxury developments for only an elite few. Design is tasked with visualizing and “selling” these projects, creating photorealistic visions of perfection that are so pervasive in our culture, they now seed the AI machines that make “art.” What impact are we leaving behind? Are we helping society steal from the present moment in order to feed the desire for a future that may never come?