On May 6, 2020, we spoke with designer, artist, musician, author, teacher, and blogger for Fast Company, Ken Carbone.

Ken was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and received his BFA at The Philadelphia College of Art (now The University of the Arts) in 1973. His work is deeply rooted in drawing, which offers him the greatest range of creative expression — from the economy of a linear sketch to the depth of a heavily rendered image. Carbone's exploration of nudes, portraits, objects, landscapes, as well as geometry, is conveyed both representationally and abstractly. He uses a wide range of both wet and dry media, including graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, pastel, ink, watercolor, acrylic and oil. He has also experimented with photography, collage, prints, sculpture, and digital imaging.

For more than 40 years, he has been the Creative Director and Artist-in-Residence for the internationally renowned design firm Carbone Smolan Agency, which he co-founded in New York City in 1977 with designer Leslie Smolan. Their work has included award winning assignments for a myriad of clients — from Mandarin Oriental Hotels, the Boston Consulting Group, Coach and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra — to some of the most esteemed art institutions in the world, such as The Museum of Modern Art, LACMA, The Jewish Museum, The Morgan Library, and The Musée du Louvre.

In 2014, this body of work culminated in his receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Carbone teaches at the School of Visual Arts and has lectured at Yale University, Carnegie Melon, the Rhode Island School of Design, the University of the Arts, Cooper Hewitt, The Denver Art Museum, and the High Museum in Atlanta. In 2015, he was invited to speak at TEDX about his career in art and design.

He is a contributor to Fast Company Magazine as well as Huffington Post, where he writes about art and design, and is the author of the book, The Virtuoso: Face to Face with 40 Extraordinary Talents.