Clean, simple, effective, elegant – these are the hallmarks of Dyan Parro’s art direction and design. Marked also by passion, obsessive attention to detail and a love of typography, her work brings corporate identities to life, creates editorial layouts of arresting beauty and makes ads that seduce. Dyan has worked for top consumer and trade magazines, and managed and mentored creative departments for corporate clients. She has collaborated with some of the best photographers and illustrators around, hiring teams of makeup artists, hair and prop stylists, and models to create outstanding layouts for clients. She has also earned the RGD designation from the Association of Registered Graphic Designers, confirming that her work conforms to the highest professional standards. During her career, Dyan has designed and art directed print catalogues, brochures, direct-mail cards, in-store signage, magazines and online projects for clients that include Walmart Canada, Sears, Lundstrom Fashion, GURU Sportswear, Conquest Vehicles, GreenLane Estate Winery, Eleven, Johnston & Daniel, Bloorview Kids Rehab, YWCA, Transcontinental Media, HBC, June Callwood Centre, Magazines Canada and many others. Along the way she has won awards from Creativity (New York), the National Magazine Awards, Communication Arts, Kenneth R. Wilson Foundation and the Advertising & Design Club of Canada. Dyan started her career in advertising and then moved to magazines and corporate work. After five years of art directing Style at Home magazine (then called Select Homes), she launched her own studio, Thumbnail Art Direction + Design. She has worked for a growing roster of clients since, including publications in the financial, lifestyle, fashion, home décor, shopping and IT business sectors. With her extensive knowledge of consumer and niche market design strategies, Dyan has been asked to create concepts and launch several new publications, as well as redesign existing ones. Her design skills, print production expertise and advanced four-colour press knowledge made her Magazines Canada’s and Masthead Magazine’s choice to art direct Look Like a Hero: The Art Directors Guide to Magazine Print Production. Dyan’s enthusiasm for her craft is infectious, and she has used it to help mold future generations of designers. She taught Book and Magazine Design at the Centre of Creative Communications, Centennial College, in Toronto. During her four years, she oversaw the relaunch of
On the Danforth Magazine, a successful showcase of student talent that is still produced annually in print and online. Whether launching a new publication or young person onto a new career path, Dyan rises to the challenge with unquenchable enthusiasm and style.