Archie Boston Jr. facts for kids

Archie Boston Jr. (born in 1943) is an American graphic artist and a retired professor. He is known for his amazing designs and for helping to teach new designers.

Archie Boston Jr. grew up in a small, poor family in southern Florida. He studied graphic design at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. After school, he worked at many advertising agencies. In 1967, he started his own company, Boston & Boston Design, with his brother Bradford. It was one of the first design companies in the United States owned by Black people. When he was 29, in 1972, he became the president of the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles. He was the first Black president in the club's history.

In 1977, Boston earned a master's degree from the University of Southern California. He then began a long career teaching at California State University, Long Beach. He helped create the Visual Communications Design program there and led the department for many years. In 2004, he was named "Outstanding Professor of the Year."

He also made several documentary films. One film was called 20 Outstanding Los Angeles Designers. In 2018, he worked with his brother David to make Black Pioneers of the Sunshine City. This film was about important Black community leaders in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2021, Boston received a special award, becoming an American Institute of Graphic Arts medalist.

Early Life and Moving to Florida

Archie Boston Jr. was born in 1943 in Clewiston, Florida. His father worked in sugarcane fields and later became a truck driver. His mother took care of five children, including Archie, and worked as a babysitter. In the year Archie was born, his family moved to a part of St. Petersburg called "Peppertown." This was a Black community with about 14,000 people. The Boston family later moved to the Gas Plant area, which is now known as Midtown. Archie finished high school at Gibbs High School.

Learning and Studying Design

In 1961, Archie followed his older brother, Bradford, to the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. This school later became the California Institute of the Arts. Loans from the government helped pay for his first three years of school. Then, a special scholarship from the Disney Foundation paid for his last year of graphic design studies. He learned from famous designers like Louis Danziger. Archie graduated with honors in 1965. Later, in 1977, he earned his master's degree from the University of Southern California.

A Career in Design and Advertising

While still in his last year at Chouinard, Archie Boston Jr. worked at a big advertising company called Carson/Roberts in Los Angeles. After graduating, he worked at other companies, including Hixson and Jorgensen Advertising in 1965. In 1966, he became an art director at Botsford Ketchum.

In 1967, Archie and his older brother, Bradford, started their own company called Boston & Boston Design. This was a very important step because it was one of the first design companies in the United States owned by Black people. Before this, in 1963, the brothers had worked together to make posters for the Council on Negro Affairs. Boston & Boston Design worked for big clients like Beckman Instruments.

After two years, in 1969, Archie left Boston & Boston Design. He wanted to go back to working at advertising agencies. He liked seeing his ideas become real ads that people would see. He went back to Carson/Roberts for a short time. Then he rejoined Botsford Ketchum, where he stayed until 1977. At Botsford Ketchum, Boston worked on ads for companies like Motorola, Raytheon, and Yamaha. He even wrote the words for some ads, like a famous one for Pentel pens. In 1973, he also started his own design business, Archie Boston Graphic Design.

In 1972, when he was only 29 years old, Archie Boston Jr. became the president of the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles. This was the second-largest club of its kind in the country. He was the first Black president in the club's 28-year history, which was a huge achievement!

Teaching Future Designers

Archie Boston Jr. first started teaching when he was 23 at the Chouinard Art Institute. After getting his master's degree in 1977, he began teaching full-time at California State University, Long Beach. He taught there for 32 years! In 1978, he helped create the design department, which later became the Visual Communications Design program. He was the head of the department for 12 terms. He stopped teaching in 2009.

Making a Difference and Leaving a Mark

During a break from teaching at California State University Long Beach, Archie Boston Jr. made a documentary film called 20 Outstanding Los Angeles Designers. For this film, he talked to many top designers in Los Angeles, including Saul Bass and April Greiman. The money earned from this film helped create a scholarship for design students who needed financial help.

In 2018, he worked with his brother David to make another documentary, Black Pioneers of the Sunshine City. Archie helped guide the creative side of this film. It told the stories of important Black community leaders in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Awards and Achievements

• 1972: He became the first African American president of the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles. He served two terms.
• 2004: California State University named him "Outstanding Professor of the Year."
• 2007: He received the AIGA Fellows Award from the Los Angeles Chapter of AIGA.
• 2017: Archie Boston and his work were shown in a TV series called The Real Mad Men of Advertising.
• 2021: He received the AIGA Medalist award, a very high honor in graphic design.
• The magazine Graphic Design: USA named him one of 35 design pioneers.
• He won awards for his work in Art Directors Club Shows in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
• In 2018, Duke University collected all of Boston's work from 1963 onwards to keep in their archives.

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