Loyola University’s ‘Input + Output’ Celebrates Life and Work of Acclaimed Designer and Alumnus Mitch Paone ‘05

A new exhibition celebrating the life and work of designer, musician, educator and Loyola University New Orleans alumnus Mitch Paone opened this week in the Diboll Design Center on the fourth floor of Monroe Library, on the Loyola campus.

The exhibition, “Input + Output,” runs through March and honors the 2005 graphic design graduate, who passed away in June at age 43 at his home in Chamonix, France. It returns Paone’s work to the city that helped shape his creative practice, where he moved between music and design, and drew on the improvisation of Jazz – as a pianist and composer – to inform his design process.

“‘Input + Output’ is a meaningful opportunity to celebrate Mitch's remarkable contributions to the field of graphic design and the lasting impact of his creative vision,” said Daniela Marx, chair of Loyola's Department of Design. “His work challenges traditional ideas about what design could be, pushing the boundaries of typography, motion and visual identity. Having his work exhibited here at Loyola allows our students and the New Orleans community to experience that innovation firsthand and recognize the legacy of one of our distinguished alumni.”

Paone was the award-winning creative director and co-founder of DIA, a design, research and innovation studio based in the French Alps and originally founded in 2009 in New York City. His life partner, Meg Donohue, is DIA’s co-founder.

As a creative director, Paone had a broad range of experience in branding, design, advertising, and commercial and music direction. He created innovative work for large and small brands including Google, Nissan, Nike, Apple, Squarespace and many more. Along with Donohue, Paone also was the co-founder of MNKY Type, a type foundry whose fonts have appeared in work for Peloton, Diesel and the New York Times Magazine.

DIA builds kinetic identity systems, typographic systems and generative tools that create flexible brands that adapt across platforms. Paone coined the term “Kinetic Identity,” where motion becomes the organizing principle of a brand system and defines how a brand behaves over time rather than how it appears in a single moment.