hillmancurtis, inc. was founded in 1998. In our first five years we have grown from designing small Flash advertisements to designing some of the most trafficked sites on the web. We're New Media Designers, firm believers in the equal and inseparable power of visual and functional communication. Proficient in all digital media across the Online, Broadcast, and Video mediums…we're especially focused on that evolving space where they all begin to merge.
To quote Charles Eames, "design is a plan for action". In other words, design isn't necessarily about making something look better, it's about moving someone into action. That's really what hillmancurtis is about.
We are commercial artists, with a responsibility to the brand and the product we have agreed to help promote. We try to keep in mind the equal responsibility we have as artists, to do what artists have always done; respond to, reflect upon and, hopefully, influence the world.
Hillman Curtis is the Principal and Chief Creative Officer of hillmancurtis.com, inc., a digital design firm in New York City. His expert and innovative design solutions have garnered him and his company the multiple Communication Arts Awards of Excellence, the One Show Gold, Silver and Bronze, the South by Southwest Conference “Best Use of Design” and “Best of Show”, the New Media Invision Bronze, a Web Award, How magazine’s Top 10, and multiple Webby Awards.
Hillman was named as one of the top ten designers by the IPPA, included in the “ten most wanted” by IDN magazine, and as one of the “Worlds best Flash designers” by Create Online.
He has appeared as the keynote and featured speaker at design conferences worldwide and his work has been featured in a variety of major design publications. Hillman’s first book, Flash Web Design (New Riders, USA) has sold over to 100 thousand copies and has been translated into 14 languages. His second book, MTIV, Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer, has become required reading at design schools worldwide. It’s currently in its third printing, and has been translated into 5 languages.
Hillman’s recent work includes major projects for AOL, Yahoo!, the American Institute of Graphic Designers as well as a documentary series on designers and artists and a series of short narrative films. Additionally, his music videos have been added to MTV2 USA, MTV Nordic, MTV European, MTV France, MTV Italy, and Much Music Canada.
His latest book, Hillman Curtis on Creating Short Films for the Web was released in September. Hillman is currently busy leading multiple design initiatives for Yahoo!, including the recent homepage redesign and My Yahoo concept designs. He is also producing online commercial documentaries (documercials) for Adobe, BMW and others and continues to write, direct and produce personal films.
