405:, in 1992. He was also among the first to create a law firm logo, a "designed" law firm website, law firm newsletters and every other marketing tool that corporations use routinely today but that were simply unknown in the legal industry at that time. The transformation of marketing in the legal industry was not unlike that of the banking industry in the 1970s and the accounting industry shortly thereafter—all of which had been for centuries either not permitted to "advertise" or bound by custom and decorum from doing so.
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The success of that initiative led the FDA to once again call on Belser to design the Drug Facts label that now appears on all over-the-counter drugs. Belser would later call the
Nutrition Facts label an iconic "government brand", describing it as an example of how "design can work in the public
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that appears on all major appliances in the U.S. Because
Congress had mandated the reformulation of the label but not its redesign, Belser undertook the project as a pro bono effort, for which he received a Presidential Design Award from President Bill Clinton. In an interview in
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Design Annual, regarded by many as the nation's most prestigious graphic design competition. Since 1974, Belser has won hundreds of awards for his work in graphic design. Some of the competitions that have awarded him for his work include:
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of
Washington, D.C., proving that design for law firms could be done in an instructive, informative and innovative manner. Belser quickly expanded the tactical and graphical legal vocabulary, creating the very first ads for a law firm,
311:, has been exclusively in family hands from the Mikell side of the family for over 300 years. Summer-long stays in the natural setting of the plantation awakened his artistic predilection. He took painting and drawing courses at the
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50, American
Corporate Identity, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts (Illustration Annual), Creativity magazine, American Graphic Design Awards (Graphic Design: USA),
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said "I applaud the person who designed the
Nutrition Facts label that's on every food package now being sold in the U.S.", describing it as a "masterpiece of information architecture, and quite a victory for social responsibility."
278:(FDA) mandated food labeling system that appears on all packaged foods in the United States, which has been called by some "the most frequently reproduced graphic in the world." He is also widely known for the pioneering work in
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Belser's first brochure for a law firm was designed in 1983 for the
Virginia firm of McGuire Woods & Battle. It was a 12-page hardcover book, modeled on 18th-century book design. The brochure took a Gold Award at the
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His parents divorced in 1952. Belser lived another two years in
Columbia with his mother and sister before moving with them and his stepfather to Birmingham, Alabama, for a year, then on to
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In 1978, he launched his own design firm, Burkey Belser Inc. That same year, he married lawyer Donna
Greenfield. They later merged his company with her consulting firm into
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336:. Belser was given the President's Award by the student body, an award given to the individual judged to have contributed most to the high school. He was an
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that earned him a
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Legal Marketing Association as well as induction into that organization's Hall of Fame.
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in France. During the decade following college, Belser trained himself to be a designer. He joined the provocative magazine published by
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in North
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412:'s staff at the FDA to help with the Nutrition Facts label, because of his prior success designing the
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560:"Interview with Burkey Belser · Law Firm Blogging :: Legal Blog Marketing :: Lawyer Blogs"
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Belser was not initially trained in graphic design. He was an English major and an art minor at
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Belser and Greenfield had two children. He died of bladder cancer at his home in
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work from 1979 to 2004. His work also appears in other publications, including
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679:"Massimo Vignelli: Creator of Timeless Design and Fearless Critic of "Junk""
654:"Next time you read a food nutrition label, pour one out for Burkey Belser"
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616:"Burkey Belser, designer of ubiquitous nutrition facts label, dies at 76"
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From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age
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454:(Sunnyside Press) published in 2004, a compilation of the
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cartoons before settling on favorite cartoonists such as
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386:. Belser began working with law firms shortly after the
266:(July 8, 1947 – September 25, 2023) was an American
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
392:decision in 1977 allowed lawyers to advertise.
779:Deaths from bladder cancer in the United States
709:. Univ of California Press. pp. 149, 240.
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315:when he was eight. He redrew entire issues of
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442:, on September 25, 2023, at the age of 76.
476:Big Book of Letterhead and Website Designs
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774:People from Edisto Island, South Carolina
270:. He is best known for his design of the
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
295:Burkey Belser was born July 8, 1947, in
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468:Big Book of Corporate Identity Designs
16:American graphic designer (1947–2023)
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769:People from Columbia, South Carolina
652:Chappell, Bill (28 September 2023).
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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464:Best of Corporate Identity Design
276:U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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799:Artists from Memphis, Tennessee
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34:needs additional citations for
784:Deaths from cancer in Maryland
703:Frohlich, Xaq (October 2023).
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794:20th-century American artists
408:In 1992, he was contacted by
389:Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
313:University of South Carolina
739:American Corporate Identity
460:Absolutely the Newest Logos
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764:American graphic designers
452:25 Years of Legal Branding
480:Global Corporate Identity
369:University of Montpellier
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484:Global Graphics: Symbols
472:Big Book of Design Ideas
297:Columbia, South Carolina
158:Columbia, South Carolina
789:Davidson College alumni
510:(Rockport Publishing).
506:(Rockport Publishing),
502:(Rockport Publishing),
494:(Rockport Publishing),
486:(Rockport Publishing),
456:Greenfield/Belser Ltd's
434:Personal life and death
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642:July 1996 AIGA Journal
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309:Edisto, South Carolina
734:Greenfield Belser Ltd
384:Greenfield/Belser Ltd
358:Nutrition facts label
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272:nutrition facts label
217:Nutrition Facts label
500:Promotions that Work
305:Duchy of Württemberg
43:improve this article
622:The Washington Post
488:HOW Colossal Design
410:David Aaron Kessler
264:James Burkey Belser
144:James Burkey Belser
520:Communication Arts
478:(Watson-Guptill),
474:(Collins Design),
470:(Watson-Guptill),
440:Bethesda, Maryland
403:Howrey & Simon
398:Art Directors Club
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334:Memphis, Tennessee
303:from Baden-Baden,
177:Bethesda, Maryland
169:September 25, 2023
716:978-0-520-29881-1
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365:Davidson College
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687:. Retrieved
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209:Notable work
171:(2023-09-25)
154:July 8, 1947
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
759:2023 deaths
754:1947 births
430:interest."
414:EnergyGuide
377:Avant Garde
338:Eagle Scout
222:EnergyGuide
748:Categories
689:2023-09-29
570:2014-01-07
546:References
301:Charleston
291:Early life
200:Occupation
150:1947-07-08
69:newspapers
286:Biography
99:July 2019
254:Children
344:award.
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83:scholar
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514:Awards
348:Career
274:, the
231:Spouse
179:, U.S.
160:, U.S.
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535:Print
242:(
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90:JSTOR
76:books
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665:2023
630:2023
525:AIGA
325:and
166:Died
140:Born
62:news
658:NPR
356:US
45:by
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