My name is Richard Friend, and I’m a graphic designer.

My day job is Art Director at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, DC. Primarily, I design the print edition of Trust magazine; but I enjoy producing a wide variety of materials showcasing the truly good work that Pew is doing.

From 2003 to 2016, I was Art Director/Senior Designer at Woodpile Studios in Vienna, Virginia, where I designed for clients large and small across both print and web mediums.

Prior to that, I was a graphic designer at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer | Sackler Galleries, and I started my career at Studio A in Alexandria, Virginia—immediately after graduating from the Corcoran School of Art with a BFA in Graphic Design in 1997. It was there that I first developed a love for book and museum exhibition catalog design.

An avid fan of hyper-local history, I created Lost Laurel—a nostalgia blog about Laurel, Maryland, where I grew up. The Lost Laurel Facebook page has over 6,000 fans to date.

I’m also a board member of the Laurel Historical Society, where I enjoy donating design services for the Laurel Museum’s annual exhibits and outreach programs. When I’m not designing something or another, I can usually be found back in my old hometown—digging up new discoveries with the Laurel History Boys.

I’ve had the privilege of working with some wonderful clients over the years—a portion of whom are shown below. This portfolio site represents a selection of work spanning two decades, and as time permits, I look forward to updating it with projects—both professional and personal—that are currently in progress.