ABOUT
The OADC is a design studio showcasing the portfolio and design skills of Andy Taray.
Pronoucned (TAH-RAY)
Andy is a Grammy nominated creative thinker who specializes in brand development and cohesive visual identity systems. Andy brings over 20 years of experience working with many great companies, Including: MTV Networks, Gap Inc., NBC Universal, Smithsonian Folkways, Sesame Street, ESPN, and many others. Andy currently owns and operates two small businesses: OADC, a full-service graphic design studio, and The Social Dept., a hand-screenprinted clothing brand featuring a large catalog of designs depicting regional, state and municipal pride in our country’s diverse food, sports, and ethnic culture.
While not running his businesses, Andy has taught typography and design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Kent State University and has guest lectured at the Akron Art Museum and Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Andy’s designs have been featured in numerous publications including the American Institute of Graphic Arts NYC, The Art Directors Club NYC, Print Magazine, Communication Arts, Midwest Living, and various television shows. In 2011, Taray was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Album Packaging for his design for the record, Chip Taylor: Yonkers NY.
CLIFF NOTES VERSION:
- family
- friends
- design
- music
- cats
- cocktails
- basketball
- porch hangs
EXTENDED VERSION: (As told by J Hudson)
Andy is the son of Mike & Sara Taray and brother to Mike, Amy, and Lisa. A son of a rubber worker and a nurse… built on solid values and a strong work ethic. Growing up in the 1980s, he was not yet aware of the term graphic design, but was “in training” for his profession by collecting everything from baseball cards, candy wrappers, music packaging, and of course, t-shirts.
After graduating from Chippewa High School, Andy studied printmaking at Ashland University and then specialized in Visual Communication Design at Kent State University, where he received a bachelor of fine arts (BFA) in 1998. After an incredible summer internship experience in New York City, Andy graduated from college and relocated to NYC to begin working in the design field.
He got his start as a designer at Platinum Design Inc. NYC and then as an art director at MTV Networks. At Platinum, he worked with a wide range of clients including: Pantone, Hearst Publications, Tony Hawk, Kiss, ESPN The Magazine, Warner Books, and J Records. At MTV he was given the opportunity to work with many of the 25+ channels within the MTV Networks brand,including Comedy Central, Spike, MTV, TV Land, CMT, and Nickelodeon.
In 2006, Andy and his wife Christy returned to their beloved homeland of Northeast Ohio. They settled in Akron and started the OADC, a design studio with clients from California to New York and many places in between. The studio has worked with a long list of clients including: Old Navy, Sesame Street, NBC Universal, Metropolis Magazine, Random House, and many local brands. Andy also started The Social Dept. LLC, a company that specializes in hand-screened t-shirts depicting regional, state and municipal pride in our country’s diverse food, beverage, sports, and music culture. The Social Dept. has an ever growing catalog of over 300+ designs with concepts covering all 50 states. To this day, Andy still hand screens all of his t-shirts ordered from around the world through The Social Dept.’s website and owns and operates a retail store in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
Taray’s designs and work have been featured in numerous publications including the American Institute of Graphic Arts NYC, The Art Directors Club NYC, Print Magazine, Communication Arts, Country Living, and numerous television shows. In 2011, Taray was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Album Packaging for his design for the record, Yonkers NY.
While not running his own businesses, Andy has taught typography and design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Kent State University and has guest lectured at the Akron Art Museum and Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Taray still draws inspiration from everywhere. He is inspired by everything from record covers to food packaging to old Sears’s catalogs and the drawings and sayings of his own children. He believes, “design is a part of everything we buy and has become a huge part of our culture.” As someone that has started his own businesses, Andy loves seeing other small business open and succeed by doing things right from a design perspective, whether it is signs, packaging, décor or branding. “The small Mom & Pop shop has been kind of a lost art,” Andy says, “we love the opportunity to be a part of helping individuals realize their dreams (big or small). A logo or signage can be the voice of your company before anyone really knows what you have to offer. And I know I am not the only one that shops from an aesthetic standpoint. If you have a killer visual… in most cases a killer product follows.”
A dedicated family man, Andy lives in Akron with his wife Christy, two children June & Nolan, three cats, and never misses a Duke basketball game.
RIP DAD / RIP RUFUS