Hasta La Ideas

Louisville’s Speed Art Museum, in the midst of a three-year expansion project, has found a new director in Ghislain d’Humières (pictured), director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. He will succeed Charles Venable, who departed last fall to take the top job at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. D’Humières’ first day on the job is September 3.

At OU, he led a $15 million capital campaign as well as the development and management of the museum’s new 20,000 square-foot Stuart wing. D’Humières previously served as assistant director at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco during the construction of the de Young Museum of Art. “His essential role in the opening and logistical organization of the $320 million, 290,000 square foot de Young project at the Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, was one of many contributing factors leading to the search committee’s decision to hire Ghislain,” said Allan Latts, chair of the Speed Art Museum’s board of trustees in a statement issued today. “He also initiated innovative partnerships with the University of Oklahoma and its stakeholders that broadened the museum’s reach throughout the community.”

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Susan Sellers, founding partner and creative director of New York-based design consultancy 2×4, is moving on up, to the East Side, where on Monday, June 24, she’ll begin her new role as head of design at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In overseeing the museum’s department of design, Sellers will lead a cadre of specialists–in installation, graphic, and lighting design–that attend to everything from signage and printed materials to exhibitions and gallery installations.

Sellers, who is also senior critic in graphic design at Yale School of Art, comes to the Met with extensive experience working with museums. 2×4 has developed graphic identities for the likes of PS1 and the Brooklyn Museum, and Sellers has cultivated the studio’s approach to brand identity for museums and public institutions including the Guggenheim, Longwood Gardens, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She has also designed exhibitions for clients such the Guggenheim and the Storefront for Art and Architecture–as well as Nike and Prada. “Her design work is both elegant and strategic,” noted Metropolitan Museum director Thomas Campbell in a statement announcing Sellers’ appointment, “and I look forward to having her develop a design vision for the Met that speaks to the museum’s diverse collections and audiences.”

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David van der Leer, who with Maria Nicanor developed and headed the curatorial team of the BMW Guggenheim Lab, will take the helm at Van Alen Institute beginning May 6. The NYC-based nonprofit architectural organization, whose mission is “to promote innovative thinking about the role of architecture and design in civic life,” selected van der Leer as executive director after an international search. He will succeed Olympia Kazi, who stepped down last May. Since then, Jeff Byles has served as interim director.

“David van der Leer represents a new type of commitment to the public realm that makes urban issues accessible to architecture and design professionals and everyday urban citizens alike,” said Stephen Cassell, chairman of the Van Alen’s board of trustees, in a statement issued Tuesday. “Van Alen Institute welcomes his initiative to develop more national and international competitions, studies, and programs relevant to the understanding of contemporary urban life.”

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Rucci Redux. Looks from Alexander Wang’s spring 2013 collection.

• Wake the kids and phone the neighbors: Alexander Wang is taking the creative helm at Balenciaga. Look for the PPR-owned house to make it official next week, according to WWD. Wang will replace Nicolas Ghesquière, whose departure was announced earlier this month and becomes effective today. Wang’s brand has soared in recent years, staking out a lucrative turf between contemporary and designer pricing. His spring 2013 collection ripped off borrowed liberally from the design signatures–if not the technical prowess–of Ralph Rucci, a true innovator in the mold of Cristobal Balenciaga himself.

• Paula Scher and Seymour Chwast are the recipients of this year’s Collab Design Excellence Award, bestowed annually by a collaboration of design professionals supporting the modern and contemporary design collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Past winners of the award include Zaha Hadid, Alberto Alessi, and Philippe Starck. Scher and Chwast receive their award tomorrow at the museum, where they’ll inaugurate an exhibition of their work that opens to the public on Sunday.

• Fans of The Last Magazine will be particularly excited to learn that the publication’s co-founder Magnus Berger is headed to WSJ. as the magazine’s new creative director. Look for his fresh look to debut with the February 16 issue.
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With Chris Anderson leaving the Condé Nast camp to spend more time with his robots (as CEO of 3D Robotics), Wired didn’t have to look far for its next editor-in-chief: it is Scott Dadich, who served as creative director of the magazine from 2006 through 2010 before ascending to the role of iPad Whisperer (a.k.a. vice president for Condé Nast digital magazine development). “Scott has been at the forefront of the company’s digital innovation for the past three years, developing the design for a digital magazine that has become an industry standard,” said Condé Nast editorial director Tom Wallace, in a statement issued Friday announcing the appointment. “His return to Wired…will ensure that it continues its pace-setting growth.” Wired recently announced a 2013 rate base increase from 800,000 to 825,000, marking the magazine’s eleventh consecutive year of rate-base growth.

Previously on UnBeige:
• Seven Questions for Scott Dadich

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.