William Ruggieri—Alumnus, 1966 and 1967
“Don’t ignore any path that presents itself to you—sometimes the ones that appear to be the most off-track can lead you in the most interesting directions.”
The Inside Story
I’m not an artist…at least not in the traditional sense. I sculpt information, images and media. I create spaces for people to learn in…part theater, part architecture, part film, light and sound. I design museum exhibits. Not art exhibits (or the stuffy, boring kinds of exhibits that your grandmother likes to go to), but exciting, dynamic learning spaces. It’s not a profession that’s easily defined and it’s not taught in most colleges. I learned by doing and was fortunate to find myself in the company of some very talented designers early in my career. Not easily defined, but certainly unique and diverse…I’ve worked on projects from the Grand Canyon to Jurassic Park at Universal Studios, on subjects as diverse as Civil Rights and the history of the Marine Corps.
Current Status
I work as a senior designer/consultant to exhibit design firms throughout the country.
In addition to designing the exhibition for Artifacts—Kids Respond to a World in Crisis, in 2002, Bill has also been a member of the Gold Key Society of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for the past three years.
Career Path/Artistic Path
As is the case with many of us, I didn’t begin my career with a clear vision of what I wanted to do. I was always considered one of the better “artists” during my grade school and high school careers. I was encouraged by my parents and teachers, attended Saturday art classes at our local museum and won two Scholastic Gold Keys during my junior and senior years in high school. Instead of majoring in Fine Arts in college, I studied Industrial Design. I know that sounds like a boring choice but it was quite the opposite. In addition to the requisite studio design classes, drawing and painting, sculpture, printmaking, film and photography rounded out the curriculum.
The Industrial Design program at the University of Cincinnati was a 5-year cooperative work/study program. Many of the jobs I had during my work sessions were for companies that designed pre-school toys that focused on early learning. That experience, combined with an interest in interior design lead me to my first job as a junior designer with an exhibit design firm in Los Angeles. I spent a year in L.A. and then took a job with an exhibit design firm in New York. During that period I met a number of playwrights and designed sets for a handful of off-Broadway plays.
Exposure to the theater allowed me to bring yet another artistic discipline into the exhibit design field. Over the years, I’ve tried to continue to draw on as many diverse disciplines as possible to enhance the museum spaces I design.
Recognition Through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
“Don’t ignore any path that presents itself to you—sometimes the ones that appear to be the most off-track can lead you in the most interesting directions.”
The Inside Story
I’m not an artist…at least not in the traditional sense. I sculpt information, images and media. I create spaces for people to learn in…part theater, part architecture, part film, light and sound. I design museum exhibits. Not art exhibits (or the stuffy, boring kinds of exhibits that your grandmother likes to go to), but exciting, dynamic learning spaces. It’s not a profession that’s easily defined and it’s not taught in most colleges. I learned by doing and was fortunate to find myself in the company of some very talented designers early in my career. Not easily defined, but certainly unique and diverse…I’ve worked on projects from the Grand Canyon to Jurassic Park at Universal Studios, on subjects as diverse as Civil Rights and the history of the Marine Corps.
Current Status
I work as a senior designer/consultant to exhibit design firms throughout the country.
In addition to designing the exhibition for Artifacts—Kids Respond to a World in Crisis, in 2002, Bill has also been a member of the Gold Key Society of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for the past three years.
Career Path/Artistic Path
As is the case with many of us, I didn’t begin my career with a clear vision of what I wanted to do. I was always considered one of the better “artists” during my grade school and high school careers. I was encouraged by my parents and teachers, attended Saturday art classes at our local museum and won two Scholastic Gold Keys during my junior and senior years in high school. Instead of majoring in Fine Arts in college, I studied Industrial Design. I know that sounds like a boring choice but it was quite the opposite. In addition to the requisite studio design classes, drawing and painting, sculpture, printmaking, film and photography rounded out the curriculum.
The Industrial Design program at the University of Cincinnati was a 5-year cooperative work/study program. Many of the jobs I had during my work sessions were for companies that designed pre-school toys that focused on early learning. That experience, combined with an interest in interior design lead me to my first job as a junior designer with an exhibit design firm in Los Angeles. I spent a year in L.A. and then took a job with an exhibit design firm in New York. During that period I met a number of playwrights and designed sets for a handful of off-Broadway plays.
Exposure to the theater allowed me to bring yet another artistic discipline into the exhibit design field. Over the years, I’ve tried to continue to draw on as many diverse disciplines as possible to enhance the museum spaces I design.
Recognition Through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
- Gold Key, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 1966
- Gold Key, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 1967
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