About Steve Harding

Steve Harding is founder and president of Steve Harding Design, Inc., a full service museum design firm headquartered in Houston. He received his B.A. from the Philadelphia University of the Arts and studied for two years with renowned Swiss graphic designers Armin Hoffman, Kurt Hauert, Max Schmidt, Andre Geurtler, and German typographer Wolfgang Weingart at the prestigious Basel School of Design, in Basel, Switzerland.

Upon returning to the United States, Steve worked in New York for Lance Wyman, designer of the graphics for the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Mexico City Subway, and numerous other well known environmental graphics programs. Steve was assigned the design of the Washington D.C. Metro Systems map. The project was featured in Print Casebooks, Best in Environmental Graphic Design.

Steve next moved to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania where he took a position at the Westinghouse Corporate Design Center. In his five plus years at Westinghouse he developed identities and corporate communications for various Westinghouse divisions and subsidiaries. While with the Westinghouse Corporate Design Center Steve had the distinct pleasure of working with the corporation’s design consultant Paul Rand.

Following Westinghouse, Steve moved to 3D/International, a large international multidisciplinary design firm in Houston, Texas where he served as design director for the graphics division for eight years, becoming the youngest Senior Vice President in the company’s history. During his tenure at 3D/I Steve directed projects throughout the United States and all over the world.

Steve left 3D/I to form the Douglas Harding Group in 1987. As design partner with DHG, Steve continued to direct award winning projects for premier clients including environmental graphics program for the 4,000,000 sf Chrysler Technology Center, Auburn Hills, MI, the American General Center, Houston, and 191 Peachtree Tower, Atlanta. He developed retail facility and graphic merchandising programs for Conoco, Inc. Houston which was awarded the POPAI Gold Award, Best of Show, Best of Category. Other environmental graphics projects directed by Steve include themed graphics for Euro Disney Hotel Santa Fe and Hotel Cheyenne, Paris, France.

Steve formed Harding Design, in 1992, which is now Steve Harding Design, Inc. His new company continues to focus on corporate communications, master planning, environmental graphics and a special emphasis on exhibit and museum planning, design and film projects. Exhibits planning design projects include the Nolan Ryan Center, Alvin, TX and the Kenedy Ranch Museum of South Texas. Steve Harding Design was honored to receive the commission to design the exhibits and environmental graphics program for the George W. Bush Childhood Home, A Presidential Site, Midland, TX. The Texas State Preservation Board awarded Steve Harding Design the State of Texas Visitor Center, Old General Land Office Building, Austin, TX.  Steve Harding Design recently completed a documentary film with StoneFilms of Texas on the life and career of Leon Jaworski for Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Houston, Texas. The documentary film received two prestigious Telly Awards including national winner for Best Documentary.

Environmental graphics and wayfinding projects include the Houston Zoological Gardens, the Wortham World of Primates at the Houston Zoo, environmental graphics programs for multi-modal facilities, Union Station, Meridian MS, and Union Station, Jackson MS, themed graphics program for the Eagle Pointe Recreational Center and Golf Course, Mont Belvieu, TX.

In 1992 Steve was a member of the winning team in the international design competition for the redevelopment of Houston’s Hermann Park. A committee from the Rice Design Alliance and the Friends of Hermann Park selected the entry submitted by the team of Melton Henry/Maurice Robison, Inc. Slaney Santana Group, Peter Brown and Steve Harding from over 200 submittals from all over the world.