A touch of class.

From annual reports to fashionable ties, Dominic Pangborn is widely acknowledged as Detroit's doyen of design

When renowned designer Dominic Pangborn talks about the work he's done for some of the largest companies around the world, the conversation is more reminiscent of the corporate boardroom than the artist's loft.

He talks about creating "solutions" for clients that help them grow their business. It's a surprisingly un-artsy approach, coming as it does from a man who's widely viewed as more than just a successful businessman, but also a brilliant designer and talented artist in his own right.

Whether it's crafting logos for major corporations, patterning exquisite neckwear for high-end retailers or putting his creative touch on an annual report, Pangborn, president and CEO of Pangborn Design Ltd. in Detroit, is most interested in what the design does for the client or consumer. As a result, he's helped hundreds of clients grow their business or reach out to new markets.

"Kmart has enjoyed a working relationship with Pangborn Design for the past six years," relates Shawn Kahle, vice president of corporate affairs for Kmart Corp. in Troy. "They excel at understanding the business problem being addressed and then developing communication and graphic design that is well suited to the opportunity -- whether that is an annual report or a community brochure."

Pangborn Design's client roster includes local heavyweights like Kmart, DTE Energy, Penske Motorsports, Wolverine Worldwide and Comerica, a sizable stable of international firms like Proctor & Gamble, plus small businesses and startups.

The company has two divisions: graphic design and product design. Annual reports, corporate identity packaging, marketing, display exhibits and Web design fall under the graphic design umbrella. Product design includes neckwear, paper products like greeting cards, dinnerware, household items and licensing.

A native of Korea who came to the United States at the age of 10, Pangborn got his start in design as a student at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. As a freshman looking for an internship, he applied at 45 firms before Jasper Studios agreed to take him on. Over the course of a year, the young design student impressed executives at the small-but-growing firm, and received a series of promotions that eventually landed him the job of lead designer.

By the time he graduated Pangborn had taken on so many other duties on top of his design work that he was practically running the company. That's when he began to dream about starting his own business.

Getting started in Detroit

Pangborn had met and married his wife, Delia, during his time in Chicago. She was from the Downriver area, so Pangborn figured Detroit was a good place to get started. When he arrived here in 1978, most of the designers he met told him he belonged in larger markets like New York, Los Angeles or back in Chicago.

"That gave me the incentive to say, 'Well, Detroit needs a good designer,'" Pangborn remembers.

His first job was with a design firm that did considerable work for Ford Motor Co. His duties included working on Ford's 75th anniversary campaign, which helped him develop a name for himself. A year later, in 1979, he ventured out on his own, and almost immediately created a buzz.

"I was instantly recognized and known for my designs. My designs were crisp, simple, very direct to the point," Pangborn says. "A lot of businesses really liked what I was designing and it was something fresh in the marketplace."

He went after the biggest fish in the pond right off the bat, with impressive results. His early client roster included Manufacturers Bank (now Comerica), Chrysler Corp. and Henry Ford Hospital.

The fledgling company also capitalized on the flood of Japanese companies looking to enter the U.S. market in the early 1980s. Pangborn was a hit with Asian clients because his design work deftly blended the pleasant harmony of Eastern culture and Western artistic functionality.

Pangborn's international business grew steadily during the 1980s and into the 1990s, when Japan's economy faltered. The designer now focuses on accounts closer to home, but it was his relationship with Korean automaker Daewoo that encouraged Pangborn to diversify his business.

An executive in Daewoo's textile division asked Pangborn to develop a concept for a company tie. Pangborn, who had developed a penchant for collecting ties during his travels around the world, came back with 25 designs the very next day. The Daewoo executive was floored, and suggested that Pangborn's ties were more suited for an upscale retailer.

Armed with some samples, Pangborn headed to New York and a fateful meeting with a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue. The buyer loved the ties. The first run went on sale at Saks in Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn and sold out in weeks. He was soon in six Saks stores, then went into boutiques across the nation, selling about $500,000 worth of fine neckwear per year.

As the fashion design business grew, so did the company. Pangborn Design had about 35 employees and an office in Chicago by the mid-1990s. But with growth came other issues with managing a larger firm that pulled Pangborn away from his first love -- designing. He was spending more time supervising than rolling up his sleeves and using his creative flair to help clients. As a result, he decided to close the satellite office and streamline the operation.

Today, the firm has 12 employees and its operations are consolidated at its downtown headquarters, a few blocks from the Detroit River. The facility includes offices, a gallery and a showroom where customers can shop for ties, dishes, baby bottles and dozens of other products Pangborn designs.

"The core really comes down to this: we're a design company," Pangborn explains. "Whether we're designing ties or interiors or products it really comes down to the designs."

About 85 percent of the business is related to graphic design; licensing and products account for the remainder of the firm's revenue. Pangborn plans to open two stores in the midfield terminal now under construction at Detroit/Wayne County Metropolitan Airport. Until then, Pangborn's focus is continuing to use his designs to create solutions for clients.

Pangborn's clients appreciate his hands-on approach. In fact, it's become a key selling point.

"Not only do you get the top talent on his team, but you get Dominic. He is personally involved," asserts Doug Polkinghorne, director of communication services at DTE Energy in Detroit. "Dominic helps bring a certain sense of where our company is headed and to showcase us as a progressive Midwestern energy provider. And he does that in such a way as to make us really shine."

And when his clients shine, so does Pangborn's reputation.

Fast Facts

Name: Dominic Pangborn, 48

Title: President and CEO, Pangborn Design Ltd.

Business: Detroit-based Graphic design and product design firm specializing in everything from corporate identity and annual reports to neckwear and household items.

Personal: Born in Korea; immigrated to Jackson, Mich., at age 10 with the assistance of Catholic missionaries; graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

Residence: Grosse Pointe

Family: Wife Delia is a jewelry designer; son Oliver is a White House intern.