Hotshots: Pinkhaus President Joel Fuller [New Miami magazine]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
New Miami magazine
Hotshots received the Award of Excellence for Best Column from The Florida Magazine Association
Photo by Donna Victor
Design by Kevin Jolliffe
“PERFECTION IS ATTAINABLE,” SAYS JOEL Fuller, president of Pinkhaus, an award-winning Miami design firm.
Wishful thinking? Perhaps not. Since the company was founded in 1985, Fuller and his team have won more than 150 national and international awards, and a golden reputation for Pinkhaus in the design world.
Fuller patterned Pinkhaus after the legendary German architectural school, Bauhaus—a leader in the “less is more” design movement of the 1920s and ’30s. His firm doesn’t design buildings, but Fuller appears willing to tackle just about anything else. Under his leadership, Pinkhaus has designed print ads for American Express, sales brochures for Royal Viking Line, annual reports for Spec’s Music & Video, and packaging for Valenti Italian Ice.
This year, Fuller says Pinkhaus will diversify into the design of china, sheets and towels.
“Pinkhaus doesn’t specialize because my interests are so varied,” says Fuller, 42, who could pass for a young Andy Warhol. “I love design. I live, breathe and eat design.”
In addition to awards, Fuller is winning accolades from clients. “Joel always has some thoughts on a project that make it stand out,” says Scoff McGinnis, vice president of marketing of Joe Royal Viking Line.
Fuller’s billings speak for themselves. Last year’s revenue topped $5 million—about eight times the amount Pinkhaus invoiced in its first year.
After he arrived in Miami in 1980, Fuller went on to work for two advertising agencies, Mike Sloan Advertising and later Beher Silverstein & Partners. Says Elaine Silverstein: “Joel is an extremely talented designer whose work is very unique.”
But Fuller was never quite content to work for others. “I’ve had about 25 jobs in my career,” Fuller says. “My goal was always to start my own company.”
Next: Hotshots: Educator Tessa Martinez Tagle [New Miami magazine]
Back: Hotshots: Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor James Judd [New Miami magazine]