Skidmore Studio

Skidmore Studio is a multidisciplinary design studio headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Founded by Leo Skidmore in 1959, the firm originally operated as an illustration studio serving the automotive advertising industry. During its first several decades, its work was associated with major American automotive manufacturers and the agencies that handled their advertising, including Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler-related brands. The studio developed a reputation for high-quality commercial illustration at a time when illustrated automotive advertising was an important part of the industry’s visual language. From the 1950s through the 1970s, Skidmore Studio worked on automotive advertising for local and national agencies such as Campbell Ewald, Leo Burnett Worldwide, McCann Worldwide, Team Detroit, and Doner. Its roster included illustrators such as Ed Fella, Ron Alexander, John Ball, Ann Bauer, Stephen Magsig, Scott Olds, and Bryan Stolzenburg, alongside founder Leo Skidmore. The client work associated with this period included Ford, Pontiac, Detroit Diesel, Buick, Lincoln, Dodge, and Mercury. Until the middle of the 1970s, automotive advertising was the studio’s principal area of activity. The company broadened its commercial scope during the 1970s and 1980s, undertaking work for clients outside the automotive sector. Examples included McDonald’s, the Portland Cement Association, Reynolds Aluminum, and Key Video. This widening client base helped establish the studio as a general commercial design and illustration resource rather than a business focused exclusively on vehicle advertising. A further transition took place in the 1990s and 2000s. Leo Skidmore’s daughter, Mae Skidmore, assumed ownership in the early 1990s, and the studio expanded its services and client base under her ownership and the leadership of vice president Tim Smith. The firm increasingly pursued direct relationships with corporate and institutional clients, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Medical Center. It also worked with brands such as Ski-Doo. This period moved the business toward broader branding, communications, and design assignments. In 2010, Tim Smith acquired a majority interest and became chief executive officer. The following year, Skidmore Studio moved from Royal Oak to downtown Detroit, becoming the first official tenant of Bedrock, the Detroit real-estate development company associated with Dan Gilbert. The studio occupied approximately 9,800 square feet on the fourth floor of the historic Madison Theatre Building, where it served as an anchor tenant within a creative and technology-oriented redevelopment. During the 2010s, Skidmore Studio placed greater emphasis on branding and identity, particularly for food, entertainment, consumer products, and cultural organizations. Reported clients and projects have included Dave & Buster’s, American Express, Regal Cinemas, Family Finest, Michigan Farm to Freezer, Inspired Organics, Halo Burger, Universal Orlando Resort, Xenith, Skis.com, and the Detroit Tigers. Its capabilities include graphic design, illustration, copywriting, production, strategy, brand identity, and related creative services. The studio has been described as having a staff of approximately 16 people across these disciplines. The company experienced a leadership transition after Tim Smith died unexpectedly in January 2018. Ownership passed to his wife and business partner, Colleen Smith. In October 2018, Drew Patrick, who had previously served as chief financial officer and president, purchased the studio. Skidmore Studio remains identified with Detroit’s creative community and with the city’s broader revitalization, while continuing to serve consumer packaged goods companies, cultural institutions, entertainment businesses, and other commercial clients.

Skidmore Studio was established in 1959 by Leo Skidmore as an illustration business serving the automotive advertising industry. Its early growth reflected the importance of commercial illustration in mid-century American vehicle marketing. During the 1950s and 1960s, the studio worked for major automotive clients and their advertising agencies, developing a reputation for technically accomplished and visually distinctive automotive imagery. Clients associated with this period included Ford, Pontiac, Detroit Diesel, Buick, Lincoln, Dodge, and Mercury. The agency relationships included Campbell Ewald, Leo Burnett Worldwide, McCann Worldwide, Team Detroit, and Doner. The studio’s creative staff included a number of recognized illustrators, among them Ed Fella, Ron Alexander, John Ball, Ann Bauer, Stephen Magsig, Scott Olds, and Bryan Stolzenburg. Until approximately the mid-1970s, automotive advertising remained the company’s exclusive or overwhelmingly dominant field. In the following decades, Skidmore broadened its client portfolio and applied its illustration and design capabilities to other commercial categories. Work in the 1970s and 1980s included projects for McDonald’s, the Portland Cement Association, Reynolds Aluminum, and Key Video. In the early 1990s, Leo Skidmore’s daughter Mae Skidmore assumed ownership. Under Mae Skidmore and vice president Tim Smith, the firm expanded beyond agency-based automotive illustration and developed relationships with direct corporate and institutional clients. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Medical Center became examples of the studio’s wider cultural, civic, and corporate work, while Ski-Doo represented continuing work for a transportation-related brand. Tim Smith acquired a majority interest in 2010 and became CEO. In 2011, the studio relocated from Royal Oak, Michigan, to downtown Detroit. It occupied the entire fourth floor of the historic Madison Theatre Building, approximately 9,800 square feet, and became the first official tenant of Bedrock, the Detroit development company connected with Dan Gilbert. The relocation aligned the studio with Detroit’s emerging creative and technology district and made its workplace part of the city’s wider downtown redevelopment story. During the 2010s, the company increasingly described its work in terms of branding, identity, design, strategy, and creative production. Its focus included food, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, and cultural organizations. Reported clients included Dave & Buster’s, American Express, Regal Cinemas, Family Finest, Michigan Farm to Freezer, Inspired Organics, Halo Burger, Universal Orlando Resort, Xenith, Skis.com, and the Detroit Tigers. The studio also organized Free Art Friday Detroit, a recurring public art scavenger hunt launched in 2011 to highlight local artists and encourage exploration of Detroit. Tim Smith died unexpectedly in January 2018. His wife and business partner, Colleen Smith, inherited the studio. In October of that year, Drew Patrick, formerly the company’s CFO and president, purchased the business. Skidmore Studio is described as an active, compact multidisciplinary agency with designers, illustrators, copywriters, producers, and strategists. Its history therefore spans a transition from specialized automotive illustration to a broader independent design and branding practice serving commercial, cultural, and consumer-facing organizations.

• 2018

  Ownership changes after Tim Smith’s death

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  Following Tim Smith’s death, Colleen Smith temporarily became the owner before Drew Patrick purchased the studio later that year.

• 2011

  Move to downtown Detroit

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  Skidmore Studio moved from Royal Oak to the Madison Theatre Building in downtown Detroit and became Bedrock’s first official tenant.

• 2011

  Free Art Friday Detroit begins

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  The studio launched a recurring public art scavenger hunt designed to support Detroit’s creative community.

• 2010

  Tim Smith acquires a majority interest

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  Tim Smith acquired majority ownership and became CEO.

• 1990

  Mae Skidmore assumes ownership

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  Leo Skidmore’s daughter Mae took ownership in the early 1990s, while Tim Smith helped expand the firm’s services and client base.

• 1970

  Client work expands beyond automotive advertising

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1970s, the firm began serving a wider range of commercial clients, including McDonald’s and the Portland Cement Association.

• 1959

  Studio founded as an automotive illustration business

  [1]Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org

  Leo Skidmore established the studio to produce illustration for automotive advertising.

A Detroit-rooted, multidisciplinary creative studio that combines illustration heritage with contemporary branding, identity, advertising, packaging, and strategic design services.

• Branding services

  Brand strategy and identity

  Skidmore Studio develops brand identities and related strategic systems for consumer, cultural, entertainment, and corporate clients. The work can include positioning, visual identity, naming or messaging support, and the creation of design standards for consistent use across communications.

• Illustration services · 1959

  Commercial illustration

  Commercial illustration is the studio’s historical foundation. Its early specialization was automotive illustration for manufacturers and advertising agencies, and illustration remains part of the broader creative capabilities associated with the studio.

• Packaging and product branding

  Consumer packaged goods design

  The studio provides branding and design support for consumer packaged goods companies, including work connected with food and beverage brands. Typical assignments may involve packaging, identity, campaign materials, and other consumer-facing touchpoints.

• Cultural and entertainment services

  Cultural and entertainment design

  Skidmore Studio has worked with cultural institutions and entertainment-related organizations, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Dave & Buster’s, Regal Cinemas, Universal Orlando Resort, and the Detroit Tigers. Its work in this area spans identity, promotional design, and creative communications.

• 2011Free Art Friday Detroit

  Detroit, Michigan

  Skidmore Studio created Free Art Friday Detroit as a free art scavenger hunt. Participating artists placed work around the city, encouraging residents and visitors to discover the pieces while drawing attention to Detroit’s creative community.

  Outcome. The initiative developed into a recurring weekly art event held across Detroit.

  Source

• 2018

  Drew Patrick purchases the studioM&A

  Background

  Tim Smith’s death in January 2018 resulted in a temporary transfer of ownership to his wife and partner, Colleen Smith.

  Action taken

  In October 2018, Drew Patrick, formerly CFO and president, purchased Skidmore Studio.

  Aftermath

  The transaction established Patrick as the studio’s owner and continued the business under internal leadership.

  Source

• 2011

  Relocation to downtown DetroitStrategy

  Background

  After decades in the Detroit metropolitan area, the studio sought a downtown Detroit base during a period of renewed investment in the city’s creative economy.

  Action taken

  Skidmore Studio moved from Royal Oak to the Madison Theatre Building and occupied approximately 9,800 square feet as the building’s anchor creative tenant.

  Aftermath

  The move connected the studio with Bedrock’s downtown redevelopment program and reinforced its Detroit-centered identity.

  Source

1. 1Skidmore Studioen.wikipedia.org