no other articles link to it . please introduce links to this page from related articles ; try the find link tool for suggestions . december 2013 skidmore studio type private industry design founded 1959 1959 headquarters detroit michigan key people tim smith president & ceo services marketing strategy graphic design digital design illustration motion graphics website www.skidmorestudio.com skidmore studio is a multi disciplinary design studio headquartered in detroit michigan . founded by leo skidmore in 1959 the company began as an illustration studio for the automotive industry . today skidmore studio provides design services to a range of industries including healthcare arts and culture public sector retail professional services and manufacturing . the studio employs approximately 30 employees including graphic designers illustrators storyboard artists motion graphic artists copywriters and marketing strategists . contents 1 history 1.1 project history 2 free art friday detroit 3 references 4 external links history edit skidmore studio was established in 1959 as an automotive illustration studio . 1 the studio built a reputation in the 1950s and 60s for illustration work completed for ford general motors and chrysler . 2 until the mid 1970s the studio worked exclusively on automotive advertising with local and national advertising agencies such as campbell ewald leo burnett worldwide mccann worldwide team detroit and doner . 3 at the time skidmore employed many notable illustrators in addition to leo skidmore including ron alexander john ball ann bauer stephen magsig scott olds and bryan stolzenburg . in the early 1990s leo skidmore s daughter mae skidmore assumed ownership of the studio . with then vice president tim smith skidmore expanded the studio s offering and client base to include corporate clients such as the detroit institute of arts detroit symphony orchestra and detroit medical center . 3 4 5 in 2010 then president tim smith acquired majority interest of the studio and became ceo . 6 7 in 2011 the studio relocated from royal oak michigan to downtown detroit furthering the city s resurgence of the creative class . 8 9 10 skidmore studio now resides as the anchor tenant of the historic madison theatre building an entrepreneurial hub for creative and tech companies . 11 12 the studio occupies the entire fourth floor of the madison taking up 9 800 square feet . 13 14 it was purchased in november 2010 by dan gilbert chairman and founder of quicken loans as part of his detroit real estate initiatives . 15 project history edit during the 1950s and 1960s the studio was respected as one of the country s most talented automotive illustration studios . notable advertising campaigns from that period included work for ford pontiac detroit diesel buick lincoln dodge mercury in the 1970s and 1980s skidmore continued developing national advertising campaigns for a wider clientele that included mcdonald s portland cement association reynold s aluminum key video in the 1990s ski doo detroit institute of arts detroit symphony orchestra free art friday detroit edit in 2011 the studio launched free art friday detroit a free art scavenger hunt in the city of detroit . with a mission to elevate the profile of the city s creative community and encourage people to explore the city free art friday detroit fafdet has become a weekly art event throughout the city . 16 17 18 19 references edit skidmore moves to madison building brings 23 jobs with it . model d. retrieved june 7 2011 . studio to move downtown . detroit2020 . retrieved may 27 2011 . a b snyder christine march 13 2007 . royal oak studio expands its client list . the detroit news . access date requires url help gosselin gary 21 february 2008 . executive profile tim smith president skidmore . oakland business review . maurer katie 19 june 2006 . branching out surviving meant change . crain s detroit business . people making news . the detroit free press . 17 january 2010 . retrieved 19 january 2010 . risky investment pays off for design studio . the oakland press . 17 february 2011 . retrieved 10 may 2012 . duggan daniel 26 may 2011 . skidmore to move into gilbert owned madison theatre building . crain s detroit business . retrieved 10 may 2012 . oosting jonathan 27 may 2011 . detroit 2.0 momentum skidmore studio relocating downtown in madison theatre building . mlive . retrieved 10 may 2012 . walsh tom 10 july 2011 . tom walsh creative corridor no longer so far fetched . the detroit free press . retrieved 10 may 2012 . gallagher john 27 may 2011 . skidmore studio to anchor madison theatre building . the detroit free press . retrieved 6 june 2011 . walsh tom 10 july 2011 . tom walsh creative corridor in detroit no longer so far fetched . the detroit free press . retrieved 18 july 2011 . duggan daniel 29 may 2011 . next brick in gilbert s real estate empire first national . crain s detroit business . access date requires url help wayland michael 26 october 2011 . skidmore studio becomes anchor for dan gilbert s madison theatre entrepreneurial hub . mlive . retrieved 8 may 2012 . duggan daniel 21 august 2011 . david friedman mapped a secret buying plan . crain s detroit business . retrieved 22 august 2011 . harding matt 7 april 2012 . artists hide free art around detroit . the south end . retrieved 10 may 2012 . o neil megan 14 march 2012 . free art friday s scavenger hunt . metro times . retrieved 10 may 2012 . norris kyle . a scavenger hunt for free art in detroit . michigan radio . retrieved 10 may 2012 . hennen ashley . how to scavenge for art in detroit . the detroit regional news hub . retrieved 10 may 2012 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title skidmore studio & oldid 743440753 categories design institutionscompanies established in 1959companies based in detroithidden categories pages using citations with accessdate and no urlorphaned articles from december 2013all orphaned articles navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 9 october 2016 at 17 40 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view