Iris Bell
 Iris Bell, graphic designer, took notice of serifs and fonts when she was just a toddler. She graduated from the Chicago Academy of Art and worked in graphic design in Chicago before moving to Beverly Hills. Iris launched her own graphic design studio, specializing in high-end magazine design and other projects in the music industry. When she moved to the Big Apple, she helped produce annual reports for the Metropolitan Opera and Fortune 500 companies. Iris designs books, brochures, and newsletters and her clients range from Weight Watchers and Knorr Food, Chesebrough-Ponds and Elizabeth Arden. She is a long-time member of NYWICI, she received the organization's Liz Hoover Award in 1994.
1. How has WICI influenced your career?
I joined NYWICI shortly after I began freelancing. There've been years when half my projects have
come from contacts I've made at WICI. And, I've made many friends here, too.
2.
If there's one prominent woman you would like to meet, who would it be and why? Where would you take her to lunch?
Years ago, Cosmo had a photo essay of a young woman's first and tiny apartment. It's still one of the most beautiful homes I've seen. It was done in shades of cream with dark wood with
books and objects artfully placed. Her mother had designed it. But, her mother wasn't
an interior designer. She was a caterer. When I came across the article in my files recently,
I discovered the mother was Martha Stewart. I’d talk with Martha Stewart about that room and how her career developed. I’d take her to Devi, an Indian restaurant on 18th Street just east of 5th Avenue. It has fine food influenced by French presentation using a many types of Chinese
and Japanese serving plates.
3. What has been your worst job experience and what did you learn from it?
I worked as a sales clerk in a shop similar to The Gap while I was in high school. I enjoyed it and was even offered the position of assistant manager. To get more experience, I took a similar job at a
similar shop across the street. Although the shops seemed much the same, the
second shop was an unhappy place. I didn't stay long enough to find out where the problem was. My original shop welcomed me back. I learned that, in some cases, I wouldn't know what
a company would be like to work in till I'd been there a while.
4. We are inundated with graphics from a variety of sources. As a graphic designer, how do you cut through the "noise" and make your materials stand out?
I use different techniques for different situations. I'm doing a series of ads now. Though they're small
I use particularly large headlines. These headlines
make the ads seem larger than they are and attract
the eye. I use photos of people because people are attracted to photos of people. When I design newsletters, I use every technique
I've learned about from direct marketing research
to help the reader absorb the message. I make the photo captions clear since more people
will read them than will read the headlines or body
copy. I’ll use a serif font for the body type because it
reads faster and is easier to understand and retain. And I like to use pull quotes. This offers the reader
who skips an article a chance to still get the most
important ideas in it.
5. If you were a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, who would be your ideal partner and why? What dance would you select?
Halfway through the last season's Dancing with
the Stars, I realized the Animal Planet's Pet Star host was the same
Mario Lopez who was getting lots of press as a
dancer. I began watching the show just to see him.
I'd enjoy dancing a tango with him, and as a
bonus I'd get to talk with him about the principles
he follows to be a good host. On Pet Star, the animals are sweet but
the best part is Mario Lopez. He's a charming man who
can help a 5-year-old feel proud of herself even
though her bird is balking at doing its trick.
— Arlene Schulman
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