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Noreen Morioka is an Asian American graphic designer, and owner of AdamsMorioka, whom she shares with Sean Adams. Morioka leads the team in creative direction and business development. Her creative input has led to success in multiple communications programs.

Early life & education
"Noreen Morioka was born on July 6th, 1965. She currently 53 years old. She attended the California Institute of Arts.

Career
Adams and Morioka met and became friends and confidants while both were attending college at California Institute of Arts. However, after college, Morioka went to Japan to search for a design job. After approximately 100 interviews and no offers, she landed a position at Landor Toyko. Morioka learned the importance of teamwork and building a network. Adams and Morioka reconnected in Los Angeles in 1990. At the time design work in back then were very oblique, illegible, and too cool for comprehension. Adams and Morioka wanted to change the face of design and create it in a way that it resonates with a broader audience. Thus in 1994, AdamsMorioka was born. Their work at first was very clean and had a modernist approach which went against design at the time and began to gain respect and recognition. AdamsMorioka has worked with clients such as Adobe, Sundance, Nickelodeon, and Disney.

The work at AdamsMorioka works falls under very diverse work such as Case Studies, Environmental, Identity, Interactive, Logos, Motion, Packing, Posters, and Print. On their website adamsmorioka.com and on YouTube they share videos on different topics of design and share a bit of design history such as the use of proportions throughout centuries. Every design that is created various in style and color use based on what they are creating, such as road signs, billboards, to something simple as a business card. The work that Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka do all falls under a philosophy that falls under "Clarity, Purity, and Resonance"

Clarity, Purity, and Resonance at AdamsMorioka
The initial philosophy of clarity, purity, and resonance was seen as a welcome alternative to the visual chaos of the time. “They had a meteoric rise in the industry and were soon working on some of the world’s largest brands. The idea of only “designing” quickly morphed into looking at all aspects of a company holistically. It was useless to make a beautiful logo if there were no methods of dissemination, or the parts didn’t cooperate. Now, almost two decades later, “strategy” is the new “branding” of today. Like other catchwords, what began as a critical and practical part of the process, “strategy” has been co-opted and adulterated; and typically results in dialogue with no actionable results. As the design world twisted and turned, trying to find the next new catchword, AdamsMorioka patiently and consistently followed their tried and true philosophy. Partner, Noreen Morioka, recalls sage advice from noted designer Saul Bass, “A career is not built on one flashy solution. It is built on consistency and a series of successes.”

Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka founded AdamsMorioka on the principles of clarity of message, purity of form, and resonance emotionally and intellectually. This philosophy was introduced by Steven Heller, and these principles have not changed. These practices are not only for creative work but for business practices. They explain the philosophy as, “In a culture bombarded with messages and images, clarity, purity, and resonance are vital parts of an idea. Added to this chaos of communication, is the mistrust of marketing. The audience has grown up with the awareness that they are marketing targets. They find holes in anything that is inauthentic. AdamsMorioka insists that honest and plain communication must always be maintained.” AdamsMorioka on the surface seems to be benign and safe, however, the visual work is reassuring and seductive. The colors are fresh, clear, and imagery is optimistic and friendly, and the forms are simple. They don’t use dense, oblique, and pointless compositions such as angry, dystopic and offensives images.

Awards & recognition
In 2006, Morioka was named as a Fellow of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. She was a past president AIGA Los Angeles, past chair of the AIGA National President’s Council, Fellow of International Design Conference at Aspen, Chair of the James Beard Foundation Award of Design and Architecture and currently serves as a board member of ADC in New York. She often serves as a competition judge and lecturer. She is also currently serving as a co-president with Drew Davis.