Happy birthday, Deb Withey
Here’s wishing the happiest of VizEds birthdays to my former boss, Deborah Withey, DME for presentation of The Virginian-Pilot.
Deb and Jim Haag show off prospective page designs
on Election Night 2004. Photo by Julie Elman.
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Deborah has been at the Pilot just over four years, overseeing the photo, design, copy, day and graphics desks. A recent realignment changed a few of those assignments, however, including elimination of the graphics department. So don’t hold me to all that.
Last summer, Deb oversaw the debut of a massive — and very successful — redesign of the Pilot. It was the latest redesign of Deb’s career. Before she went to the Pilot, Deb was design consultant for the Knight-Ridder chain. Among the papers she remade: The Detroit Free Press; the Philadelphia Daily News; the Centre Daily Times of State College, Pa.; El Universal of Caracas, Venezuela, the Duluth, Minn., Tribune; The San Luis Obispo, Calif, News-Tribune, the Aberdeen, S.D., American News and the Monterey, Calif., Herald.
Previously, Deb worked as design director of the Detroit Free Press and assistant design director of the Dallas Times Herald. She was president of the Society for News Design in 1995 and a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University.
Deb, center, with design consultants Lucie Lacava
and Gabi Schmidt last October at SND/Boston.
Photo by Steve Dorsey.
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She’s been known to do consulting work for Bill Ostendorf’s Creative Circle group as well as her husband’s firm, Innovation. In her spare time, she designs furniture and woodwork via her studio, Cheese & Pickles.
She, her husband, Juan Antonio Giner and her son, Tam David, live in Norfolk but still have a home in St. Davids, Wales.
Deborah shares a birthday with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, former Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, actor Billy Bob Thornton, jazz great Louis Armstrong and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
In our birthday notice last year, we reported that Deb had turned 29 years old. This year, however, I’m happy to report that Deborah is turning 29 years old.
Happy 29th birthday, Deb! Best wishes!
