Brenda McManus

UDA Medallion 2022

Graphic Designer
USA

Brenda McManus is a designer, author, and educator based in NYC. A founding partner of the award-winning studio BRED, the graphic design studio, research, and design education lab of Brenda McManus and Ned Drew. She is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and current Chair of the Art Department at Pace University–NYC. Brenda is an ambassador for the Innovation Center for Design Excellence, and her research encompasses typography, integrating antiquated and contemporary technology and methods of making and collaborative design processes. 

Brenda received her MS and MFA from Pratt Institute’s Graduate Communication Design Program and has experience in design research, design management, art direction, design writing, and a passion for typography. 

McManus is the co-author, designer, and printer of the limited-edition letterpress book Drew’s ABCs and co-author of George Giusti: The Idea is the Heart of the Matter. Her work has been included in Graphic Design Solutions, 4th Ed, Typographic Design: Form and Communication, 6th edition, Color Management for Logos and Color Management: A Comprehensive Guide for Graphic Designers, and Pressing Matters issue 6. McManus’s work has also been recognized by the Society of Typographic Arts, AIGA, the TDC, the Art Directors Club, the FPO Awards, Creativity, the UCDA, IDA, and Graphis, Communication Arts, Print, and How magazines.