Morcos Key is a Brooklyn-based design studio collaborating with arts & cultural institutions, non-profits, and commercial enterprises in North America and the Middle East. We translate our clients’ stories into visual systems that demonstrate how thoughtful conversation, and formal expression make for impactful design.
Jon Key
Jon(athan) Key is an artist, designer, and writer originally from Seale, Alabama. After receiving his BFA from RISD, Jon began his design career at Grey Advertising in NYC before moving on to work with such clients and institutions as HBO, Nickelodeon, The Public Theater, and the Whitney Museum. As an educator, Jon has taught at MICA, Parsons, CCA, and currently teaches at Cooper Union. Jon is also a Co-Founder and Design Director at Codify Art, a multidisciplinary collective dedicated to creating, producing, supporting, and showcasing work by artists of color, particularly women, queer, and trans artists of color. Jon was selected for Forbes 30 under 30 Art and Style list for 2020 and was the Frank Staton Chair in Graphic Design at Cooper Union 2018-2019.
Wael Morcos
Wael Morcos is a graphic designer/type designer and partner at the NY based studio Morcos Key. Wael leads multi-lingual identity, editorial, environment and digital projects for art and culture institutions between the USA and the Middle East. Wael has been featured in Print Magazine’s 15 under 30, was named a Young Gun by the Art Directors Club and an Ascender by the Type Directors Club.
Services
STRATEGY AND BRANDING
Brand Positioning
Brand Architecture
Naming
Identity Design
Art Direction
.
ENVIRONMENT
Exhibition Design
Environmental Design
Signage and Wayfinding
.
DIGITAL
Animation
Interface Design
User Experience
Data Visualization
Website Design
.
EDITORIAL
Print
Book Design
TYPE DESIGN
Selected Clients
Nike
Cooper Hewitt
Bloomberg Businessweek
Brown University CAC
Yale University School of Art
Cherry Lane Theater
The Public Theater
Penguin Random House
Commercial Type
The Tenth
Selected Awards
Ascenders 2018
Type Directors Club
Art Directors Club
Brno Biennale
D&AD
How Magazine
Print Magazine
Communication Arts
News
Morcos Key wins 5 awards + Best in Dicipline at the TDC Competition
The Type Directors Club, the world’s leading typography organization and part of The One Club for Creativity, announced their winners for TDC69 Competition and Morcos Key is proud to bring home 5 awards, including the best in Discipline in Typography for the project I Want Sky.
Jon Key's solo show "Second Goodbyes"
Steve Turner is pleased to present Second Goodbyes, a solo exhibition by Jon Key that features new paintings, textiles and a silk screened wallpaper installation. Key continues to expand his world of contorted figures in violet plaid and polka dot against contrasting fields of black, red and green to explore issues relating to family, home, identity and friendship.
100 Best Arabic Posters
Four of the posters designed by Wael Morcos were selected for inclusion in the annual 100 Best Arabic Posters design competition.
Saudi Super Graphics
Together with ModelCraft Group, we created bespoke super graphics celebrating Saudi Arabia's 90th national day. Six chapters share Saudi culture, history, language and customs adorn the four towers in Digital City in Riyadh. This project is a collaboration with ModelCraft Group, ArtVue Worldwide and Saber.
Wael Morcos Judging the AIGA competition
Wael will be judging the AIGA “365 A YEAR IN DESIGN” competition along side 4 other amazing designers and educators. The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) recognizes excellence and representing innovation across all categories of communication design, from print to web to service to spaces-both physical and virtual.
Morcos Key turns 6!
6 years ago today we had our launch party in NYC! Very excited with what’s ahead for this year and looking forward to sharing updates with you all!
Morcos Key Key at How Design Live in Boston
Jon Key and Wael Morcos were invited to speak at the Home Design Live in Boston and to share their studio practice as a model for how a contemporary design work can give visibility to underrepresented narratives.
Center for Book Arts Master Faculty Fellow
The exhibition Morcos Key Makes Reads takes viewers through a selection of print materials: branding stories, type treatments, collaborations, commissions, and personal projects. These books are displayed alongside selections from our personal library, demonstrating the conceptual and aesthetic influence on our process and creative practice.
Morcos Key work added to the DNS Museum design collection
Four of our projects have been added to the design collection at the Die Neue Sammlung Museum in Munich: the Graphik Arabic specimen booklet, the Lyon Arabic specimen poster, the "I Want Sky" newsprint and the "Confused immigrant" poster. Thank you DNS! We are thrilled to be part of your collection!
Wael Morcos in Cairo
Wael will be speaking in Cairo, at the Falaki theater American University of Cairo Cultural Center.
Black Visionaries Impact Award
Our studio Morcos Key has been selected as recipient of the Impact Grant Recipient of the Black Design Visionaries award. We're very proud of Jon and his unwavering commitment to creating work that comes from the heart.
In June of this year Instagram and the Brooklyn Museum launched this program to empower, community builders and visionary designers who are creating innovative expressions of Black culture. The Impact Award is given to a Black lead design studio and comes with a $75,000 grant.
A big thank you to everyone who believed in us and supported us through work, mentorship and advice.
MTV VMA Campaign Taking Over the Subway
We were part of a group of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists that took over the NYC subway station at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue terminal at Barclays Center for the MTV VMA campaign. The collage pieces are abstract deconstructed portraits and the typography were in Arabic and conveyed a message of hope and resilience.
Morcos Key wins 5 awards + Best in Dicipline at the TDC Competition
The Type Directors Club, the world’s leading typography organization and part of The One Club for Creativity, announced their winners for TDC69 Competition and Morcos Key is proud to bring home 5 awards, including the best in Discipline in Typography for the project I Want Sky.
Morcos Key work added to the DNS Museum design collection
Four of our projects have been added to the design collection at the Die Neue Sammlung Museum in Munich: the Graphik Arabic specimen booklet, the Lyon Arabic specimen poster, the "I Want Sky" newsprint and the "Confused immigrant" poster. Thank you DNS! We are thrilled to be part of your collection!
Morcos Key turns 6!
6 years ago today we had our launch party in NYC! Very excited with what’s ahead for this year and looking forward to sharing updates with you all!
100 Best Arabic Posters
Four of the posters designed by Wael Morcos were selected for inclusion in the annual 100 Best Arabic Posters design competition.
Black Visionaries Impact Award
Our studio Morcos Key has been selected as recipient of the Impact Grant Recipient of the Black Design Visionaries award. We're very proud of Jon and his unwavering commitment to creating work that comes from the heart.
In June of this year Instagram and the Brooklyn Museum launched this program to empower, community builders and visionary designers who are creating innovative expressions of Black culture. The Impact Award is given to a Black lead design studio and comes with a $75,000 grant.
A big thank you to everyone who believed in us and supported us through work, mentorship and advice.
Center for Book Arts Master Faculty Fellow
The exhibition Morcos Key Makes Reads takes viewers through a selection of print materials: branding stories, type treatments, collaborations, commissions, and personal projects. These books are displayed alongside selections from our personal library, demonstrating the conceptual and aesthetic influence on our process and creative practice.
Wael Morcos Judging the AIGA competition
Wael will be judging the AIGA “365 A YEAR IN DESIGN” competition along side 4 other amazing designers and educators. The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) recognizes excellence and representing innovation across all categories of communication design, from print to web to service to spaces-both physical and virtual.
Jon Key's solo show "Second Goodbyes"
Steve Turner is pleased to present Second Goodbyes, a solo exhibition by Jon Key that features new paintings, textiles and a silk screened wallpaper installation. Key continues to expand his world of contorted figures in violet plaid and polka dot against contrasting fields of black, red and green to explore issues relating to family, home, identity and friendship.
Wael Morcos in Cairo
Wael will be speaking in Cairo, at the Falaki theater American University of Cairo Cultural Center.
Morcos Key Key at How Design Live in Boston
Jon Key and Wael Morcos were invited to speak at the Home Design Live in Boston and to share their studio practice as a model for how a contemporary design work can give visibility to underrepresented narratives.
Saudi Super Graphics
Together with ModelCraft Group, we created bespoke super graphics celebrating Saudi Arabia's 90th national day. Six chapters share Saudi culture, history, language and customs adorn the four towers in Digital City in Riyadh. This project is a collaboration with ModelCraft Group, ArtVue Worldwide and Saber.
MTV VMA Campaign Taking Over the Subway
We were part of a group of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists that took over the NYC subway station at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue terminal at Barclays Center for the MTV VMA campaign. The collage pieces are abstract deconstructed portraits and the typography were in Arabic and conveyed a message of hope and resilience.