Rick Griffith is one of Denver’s most iconic creatives. Not only is he a tour de force as the owner and design director of graphic design studio Matter, he also serves as a Commissioner of Arts and Culture, a position which he has held for over three years. Because of his signature style, Griffith brings a captivating presence to just about any event or project he is involved with in Denver.  

A native of the United Kingdom, Griffith moved to the United States in the 1980s as a kid. His family settled in suburban Washington, D.C. (Fairfax County). And at the time, D.C. was the epicenter of the punk movement, which prized individuality and was a sort of precursor to the modern DIY movement. Being in the midst of this scene was a big influence in his creative development from a young age, Griffith says. People were rejecting the establishment, but Griffith says the message that stuck with him was “pro-me, not anti-you,” which has imbued him with an originality matched by few.  

While working in and around the music scene in D.C.’s record stores and admiring the art on album covers, he says, he knew at a young age he wanted to be a designer. 

In the early ‘90s, Griffith moved to New York City to pursue a career in design. Living near the legendary Strand Bookstore, he consumed design books while working night shifts at a Kinkos. For the most part, Griffith didn’t take the traditional route in the design world. Instead, he says he earned his bachelor’s degree from the city of New York, its cultural institutions, exhibits, galleries, happenings and his work experiences at various publications and agencies. Not formally trained, the milieu of the city gave him access to design, and the various models of professional practice which have influenced him greatly.

Luminaries like Muriel Cooper, who ran the visual language lab of the 1970s, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles and Ray Eames, have stuck with him through the years, and it’s clear that the eclectic style of Eames has inspired the organically creative office he runs on Market Street in downtown Denver. Books adorn the office walls, and there are few surfaces that have been left bare for the wandering eye. He has even recently begun a new design project, transforming the space next to the office into a contemporary integrated home for he and his two daughters.

But Denver was an unlikely place for Griffith to finally settle down. He had a strong design business in NYC, working for creative clients in the performing arts scene and with classical music record labels. When his girlfriend decided she was ready to leave NYC, Griffith says, “she broke up with NYC and me at the same time.” But after a year apart, they kept the correspondence alive, and Griffith made the decision to transfer his design business to Colorado, where she had settled.  

For a year or so he split his time between Boulder and NYC, but when they felt the time was right, the couple settled in Denver, where the cost of living was lower, and there was space between he and the other design firms he admired. 

Matter has been on Market Street for 10 years now, and although Griffith has seen the neighborhood change. He says, philosophically, “I live in the space of change. I have to wade in the waters of change all the time. I am provoked and inspired by change, but I stay my course and choose to be stationary.”  

Which is perhaps why his company has been so successful at keeping with the current trends in Denver, while remaining true to the city’s roots. Griffith was around in 2008 when the Democratic National Convention took place in Denver, and helped on that effort. In recent years, Matter has been an advertiser in the independent magazine in Capitol Hill, Birdy, and has also developed the product brand MATTERIAL with paper products and DIY typographic letters that are manufactured in Denver and sold all over the U.S. (and locally at Super Ordinary and the I Heart Denver store).

Three years ago, Griffith became a Denver Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, when he was asked by Denver Arts and Venues’ Ginger White, building off of relationships he had cultivated during his career in Denver.

“I behave as if life is long,” he quips, when asked how he nurtures relationships with mentors and others in his field.

That’s not to say there haven’t been missteps along the way, but so far Griffith hasn’t had to close up shop. And as a Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, he’s doing what he can to help other aspiring cultural entrepreneurs and businesses thrive in Denver.  

“Denver is a great city,” he says. “We have both the sizzle and the steak. We have access to urban living, which isn’t so urban that our children are unsafe. And we are so close to the mountains, only 45 minutes and you are in unfettered wilderness.”

Although the art scene in Denver is growing and establishing traction, Griffith says it’s not fair to compare Denver to other established art cities like Barcelona, Berlin or New York because of the substantial barriers to entry in those cities. “In Denver, we have strong communities connected to each other,” he says. Completed in 2013, we are currently entering the second year of the cultural plan (Imagine 2020) Griffith helped put together with the City and County of Denver with a focus on advancing the city’s cultural reach.

But despite all that Griffith has done with the arts community in Denver, he resists the “innovator” label. Many of the artists and designers who shaped Griffith’s creative career are still working, and he acknowledges that he is part of a larger design community. “Instigator,” “implementer,” “brave” and “stupid” are all words Griffith used to describe his particular approach to design and how he has shaped his creative career.

In the last year, Griffith has also had to face a profound loss, the woman who brought him out to Denver in the first place passed away. He credits her as one of the many creative luminaries he looks up to, as he deflects the term innovator. But, if there’s anything I learned from spending an hour talking with Griffith, is that he seems to take every opportunity to learn and grow from his surroundings.  

And hopefully, as he confronts this tremendous hurdle, it will be no different. We look forward to seeing what comes out of this eclectic studio in the years to come.