TAKEAWAY: Garcia Media is proud to announce the appointment of Reed Reibstein as art director/project manager. The recent Yale University graduate will work with us full time on projects across all platforms. He began with us as a summer intern in 2008 and has been Mario’s copilot ever since.
Reed Reibstein becomes art director/project manager at Garcia Media
It was a fortuitous meeting in 2008, and the young freshman among the group of eagerly enthusiastic students in the upstairs library of the Yale Daily News building was one of the first to introduce himself.
“Hi, I’m Reed,” he said and smiled.
While many of Reed’s colleagues added their title at the YDN during their introductions, I noticed that Reed did not, and, of course, three years later I understand why.
Reed Reibstein, who graduated from Yale University last month with a degree in art history, is a man of many talents. He was all over the place in the newsroom of the Yale student newspaper even then, as a newly arrived freshman.
He was a little bit production man, answering questions related to InDesign, but then 20 minutes later I would find him engaged in a discussion about photo editing, only to turn his attention later to the overall look of a page on culture. But, my colleague Dr. Pegie Stark Adam, who collaborated with me on the redesign of the Yale Daily News, and I, were totally and most surprised by Reed’s intimate knowledge of the most minute details of typography and type design.
After all, here was a guy who had wanted—and got—the Leitura Sans type family for his last birthday.
A gifted young man
When Mario met Reed: this was an after dinner photo in 2008, the day we met at the Yale University campus
By the time dinner with a selected group of YDN staffers concluded our first evening visiting the beautiful and historic Yale campus, I knew that I was in the presence of a gifted young man.
Throughout the redesign of the YDN, Reed was a key member of the talented team that accompanied Pegie and me. Not only was this affable guy remarkable, smart and personable, but he exhibited at the age of 18 the people skills of a true team player which eludes so many twice his age or older. Reed never once let his talent or knowledge overstep the boundaries of staff hierarchy. Often I would call him when about to make a decision, but he always would offer his opinion while quickly reminding me that I needed to consult with the YDN’s top editors. He expressed opinions firmly, especially about type and design, but without ever using a harsh word about his colleagues.
By the time our project was concluded, I knew that my own and Garcia Media’s association with Reed had to continue. I invited him to be our summer intern, and what a thorough, disciplined and studious intern he was. Everything I did the summer of 2009 was better and more incisive because Reed was my copilot.
And, so, it came time for Reed to return for his sophomore year. I invited him to stay on board with me, and to share his free time through the school year, which he did. I remember telling him that while he rewarded me with his fresh insights, we would send him a tiny monthly allowance to take a date out to dinner from time to time.
No stipend could pay for Reed’s dedication and how he would make me see our media world from the perspective of someone almost two-thirds younger than me. Our first road trip together as a team took us to the newsroom of The Philadelphia Inquirer, a tour de force for a historically significant newspaper in trouble. Reed presented his ideas with clarity, prepared like a pro and was never intimidated by the role I had assigned him to play.
Last summer I asked Reed to help me with the planning and execution of our tablet conference at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, which he did, adding substance and the intuition of his generation: those who don’t remember life without Google.
Reed’s stellar performance convinced me that we at Garcia Media would try to lure this talent to join us full time upon graduation.
Meet our new art director/project manager
Today, three summer internships later, we are proud to announce that Reed Reibstein (Yale ‘11) joins us effective immediately as art director/project manager, based in New York City. I admit that just like it was difficult to give him a title at the YDN, we found ourselves struggling to find the words that will describe what he will do. Here is a young man with great passion and respect for the printed page, but also a phenomenal grasp of everything digital.
He will occupy my co-pilot’s seat full time, also working closely with Mario Jr. and Garcia Interactive. He comes into a non-existent position, so we will be defining Reed’s role as we go, but he will be involved in all projects and I hope that he will not only contribute the point of view of his generation—the so-called digital natives—but also engage in pre-project research, with emphasis on his tremendous expertise in typography.
The fact that Reed will be based in New York City will allow us at Garcia Media to have a firm base in the U.S.‘s most important publishing hub, while offering Reed easy access to airports with daily flights worldwide.
Two who know Reed offer their views
Pegie Stark Adam worked with Reed and me during the 2008 redesign of the Yale Daily News:
“When I first met Reed during our first meeting at the Yale Daily News I knew immediately he was a soul mate as we discussed at length the beauty and elegance of different type families that we could explore for the redesign. Not only did he already have a vast knowledge of design, he had an enormous appetite and curiosity for learning as much as he could to help with the redesign. If a certain design school of style was mentioned, he returned the next day with the entire history of the movement researched and analyzed. Reed, Mario and I spent a week together in my Canada studio the summer of ‘08 to complete prototypes for the redesign. I was amazed at Reed’s creativity, organizational skills and tireless effort to coordinate conversations between his peers, Mario and me as we experimented with various approaches. Reed was a partner in the process, introducing ideas and solutions that were innovative and fun. Congratulations, Reed, on graduating and for the good work you have done and will do as Mario’s co-pilot!”
Mario Garcia Jr., Garcia Interactive, who has worked on a variety of projects with Reed throughout his internships with us:
Working with Reed provides the greatest comfort in the world. He’s organized, always prepared, knowledgeable of the details of the project and great with clients. He truly adds to every project he’s a part of and his reliability makes him an asset.
A three minute interview with Reed Reibstein
As he prepares to board the Garcia Media train—it is more like a jumbo jet—Reed has answered these questions that best sum up his ideas and aspirations as he embarks into this, his first full-time job after graduation.
Mario: You have graduated with a degree in art history. How do you see your academic background impacting your work at Garcia Media?
Reed:
I became an art history major not to study the fine arts, but the history of graphic design. Although the department didn’t offer any courses specifically about book design or stone lettering, I learned about these and other subjects through independent research with accommodating professors. I hope that my knowledge of design history will inform the projects I work on, providing visual inspiration and helpful parallels to the team. I also plan to use the research skills I acquired by authoring and assisting with blog posts, presentations, and white papers.
Mario: I have enjoyed working with you for three years now, and I often tell people that it is absolutely magnificent to have someone in your age group as my “copilot.” But I have never asked you how you feel about the role you play in our collaborations, which, of course now will become more frequent. How do you see the dynamics of the Mario-Reed collaborations?
Reed:
I think of our collaborations as tremendous learning experiences. Not only in design—though I’ve improved a great deal through your feedback—but in how to negotiate business dealings and interpersonal relationships. Mostly, however, I’m honored by the responsibilities you’ve given me. Despite my youth, you have allowed me to participate fully in major projects, dealing directly with editors and managers. I take your faith in me seriously, and try to give back to you as much as you have given me.
Mario: One reason our partnership is so effective is because even though we are two very different generations, we complement each other, and I have great admiration for how you respect the role of print and the “print is eternal” idea, which we foster in all our work. You and I often engage in long conversations about the role of storytelling. How do you see yourself, a 22-year-old with no remembrance of life without the Internet, engaging in your new role as art director and project manager?
Reed:
I see my role as a chance to explore the many current platforms for distributing the news. What is inherent about journalism in print and on the web, tablets, and mobile phones? And what is flexible? The tablet is such a new device that I can’t wait to see what can be done with it. Yet I suspect that the printed newspaper still offers plenty of room for innovation. After all, every newspaper begins as a stack of folded papers; everything printed on it is available for reconsideration.
Reed facts at a glance
Born: New York, N.Y.
High school: Riverdale Country School, Bronx, N.Y.
Work in publications: The Riverdale Review, Yale Daily News, Yale Daily News Magazine, Daily Nation (Kenya), The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News
College: Yale University, Class of 2011
Senior Essay: ” ‘To the great Variety of Readers’: Hamlet on the Page.” Winner of the A. Conger Goodyear Fine Arts Award for an outstanding senior essay on any topic in the History of Art.
Additional: Enrolled in Letterform Design with Tobias Frere-Jones at the Yale School of Art.