John McCulley founded McCulley Design Group, now McCulley Design Lab, in 1988 with the vision to integrate the disciplines of interior design, product design, graphic design and environmental design into a total design resource for progressive companies. McCulley also consults in the custom design of residential environments, furniture and architectural products. Residential project locations have included Rancho Santa Fe, CA; La Jolla, CA; Del Mar, CA; Palm Springs,CA; Telluride, CO: and Jackson Hole, WY.
Prior to founding McCulley Design Group, John established and directed the award winning Retail Environments Resource at Fitch + Richardson Smith, an international product and retail design firm with offices in London, Columbus and Boston. As well, John has served as an Assistant Professor of product design, graphic design and interior space at The Ohio State University, Montana State University, and taught industrial design at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.
McCulley has received national and international awards of recognition for excellence in design from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA), International Design (ID) Magazine Annual Review, the Institute of Business Designers (IBD), Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), San Diego Communicating Arts (SDCA), and the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD).
His designs have appeared in such prominent publications as American Banking Association Journal; Architecture; Architectural Record; The Architectural Review; The Architecture of Stations and Terminals; Contract Magazine; Designing Corporate Identity; Identity; ID Magazine; The Los Angeles Times; Modern Trains and Splendid Stations; Progressive Architecture; Rob Wellington Quigley: Buildings + Projects; TIME; VM+SD; and Visual Merchandising.
John holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. McCulley also received a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Illinois where he studied Japanese philosophy and design. He has served on the Board of Directors for the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club, Downtown San Diego Partnership, Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito, Del Mar TV Foundation, Vice President and Board Member for the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society, and served as Chairperson on the City of Del Mar’s Design Review Board.