News

Three CIA graduates are among the 12 retail designers nationwide honored by VMSD magazine with the distinction 2014 Designer Dozen.

Maria (Deacon) Kuehn ’02, Michael Munchoff ’07, and Matthew Rush ’08 are each featured in the April issue of VMSD, which stands for Visual Merchandising and Store Design.

“VMSD is our bible. It’s the biggest magazine in our industry,” said CIA’s Interior Architecture Department Chair Michael Gollini ’86. “Being recognized by this publication is a real honor, and to be able to claim three of this year’s 12 winners as CIA grads is pretty amazing. I am very proud of these accomplished alumni.”

The annual Designer Dozen competition recognizes professionals in retail design who are 35 or younger and who “exemplify high aesthetic standards, community give-back and skills that push the industry forward.”

Kuehn is senior design manager, North America hair care and color, for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. Munchoff is senior designer, retail environments, at Chute Gerdeman in Columbus. Rush is senior designer for RTKL in Los Angeles. Read about all three – and the other nine winners – here: vmsd.com/content/rock-designer-dozen.

Last year, 2009 CIA graduate Ashley Duale made the 2013 Designer Dozen. She is environments designer at Interbrand Design Forum in Dayton.

Above, Michael Munchoff ’07, Maria (Deacon) Kuehn ’02, and Matthew Rush ’08 pose for a photograph they sent to their former professor, Michael Gollini ’86, after receiving their Designer Dozen awards at a ceremony in Las Vegas in March.