Cato Partners’ Ken Cato receives Order of Australia for service to graphic design profession

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Ken Cato.jpgKen Cato (left), founder and global head of brand company Cato Partners, has been recognised as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the graphic design profession as a practitioner, and through education and development roles both nationally and internationally.

One of Australia’s most distinguished graphic designers, Cato has been lauded locally and internationally for his work over forty years in building an award-winning global design practice, nurturing young design talent and forging strong links between the design industry and business, academia and government.

Cato’s Australian work has included enduring brand identities for: Australia Day, Australian Made, Brand Victoria, Brand South Australia, Brand Western Australia, SBS, Channel 7, Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank, Bankwest, Melbourne Commonwealth Games, World Expo, DonateLife, BHP Steel, Lend Lease, IAG, agIdeas and four AFL football clubs, amongst many others.

Cato Partners global head of strategy, Peter Wilson said the Cato Partners team are delighted to see Cato recognised for his tireless efforts to place Australia on the world map as a centre of design-driven innovation.

Says Wilson: “One of Ken’s passions is the Design Foundation, which he established two decades ago as a not-for-profit organisation. The Design Foundation is dedicated to encouraging excellence in design by supporting, promoting and enhancing the professional development of young designers. Since 1991, the Design Foundation has organised and presented agIdeas International Design Week, which has grown to become one of the largest and most prestigious creative events in the world.”

Cato has also devoted significant time to other pro bono work and voluntary design industry activities. He has served as chairman of the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association, a member of the Department of Photography Course Advisory Committee at RMIT, creative director of the Melbourne Candidature for the 1996 Olympics, a founding member and Patron of The Australian Academy of Design, a member of the Victorian Arts Centre Trust Building Sub-committee, a member of the council of The Australian centre for American Studies, a board member of The Museum of Modern Art at Heide, and president and director of education of Alliance Graphique Internationale.

Cato Partners currently has offices in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas with further expansion planned later this year. The company serves a client base in more than 100 countries.  

Says Wilson: “For Ken, his lifetime in design is far from finished. He is continuing to contribute as energetically as ever to the promotion of Australian design and creative talent.”