AAJdesign is proud to sponsor this year’s DesignPhiladelphia Kick-Off Party at the Cherry Street Pier on Tuesday, October 1st. Supporting the robust design community here in Philadelphia is extremely important to our team, and we’re happy to play a part in this year’s celebration.

Allemann Almquist & Jones was founded in 1984 by three partners: a professor, Hans-U. Allemann, one of his former students, Jan C. Almquist, and their colleague, Dana J. Jones. Now known as AAJdesign, we focus on branding and strategic communications that enable our clients to connect to their audiences with clarity. Clarity of information is a founding credo of our studio, and as the world evolves, we find that understandable communications are paramount.

This year, AAJdesign promoted two team members, Shannon Chong and JP Bender, to leadership positions as Principals/Lead Designers. Chong and Bender are currently working alongside the guidance of founder Jan C. Almquist, and both are alumni of Philadelphia’s beloved, but sadly defunct, University of the Arts. Almquist also taught at and attended the school, which continues the professor-student tradition of founders Allemann and Almquist.

AAJdesign has always felt a responsibility to connect with and amplify organizations in our city that strive to do good. We have made it a priority to support local non-profit organizations, cultural preservation groups, and educational institutions in addition to our larger clients. These organizations are imperative to keeping our city and community thriving.

Our studio has created brand identities for organizations such as the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and we have been designing their annual report for nearly a decade. We’ve created commemorative books for the Association for Public Art, a Philadelphian initiative that commissions and preserves art throughout the city, to celebrate 150 years of the organization and the retirement of their long-time editor. Additionally, we’ve worked with the Academy of Music, which supports the Philadelphia Orchestra and maintains historic buildings in the city, and developed all of the materials for their annual fundraising ball event for over ten years. Finally, we’ve worked alongside and attended events for multiple non-profit organizations that aim to create a better educational environment for children in Philadelphia.

Our company has fluctuated in size over the years, but we’ve always maintained a smaller team, which allows flexibility and promotes collaboration amongst one another, helping evolve our employees into interdisciplinary creatives. Our team encompasses a wide range of skills, including identity, editorial, web, motion, and environmental design, photography, audio/video production, brand positioning, working with complex financials and other data, naming, and deployment. These skills have allowed us to work with larger clients such as SEI, BAYADA, and Verizon.

Chong and Bender hope to uphold the original values of the studio and the design principles our team holds dear, adapting them as technology advances and channeling them into our community. We strive to deliver beautiful, responsible, accessible, and most importantly, clear communications for years to come.