Noted graphic designer
Margo Chase, an influential graphic designer who created logos for TV shows including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and album typefaces for musicians such as Prince and Madonna, died Saturday in a plane crash outside Apple Valley. She was 59.
An accomplished pilot, Chase was practicing an acrobatic maneuver when her plane crashed near the high desert town. She was killed instantly.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the San Bernardino County sheriff ’s aviation division are investigating the cause of the crash, the Associated Press reported.
Chase founded Chase Design Group in 1986 and grew the Los Angeles business into a respected global design firm for brands such as Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and Nestlé.
“Everyone in the Chase Design Group family has been touched and inspired by Margo’s creativity, generous spirit and love for design,” President Chris Lowery said in a statement. “We will all miss her brilliance and incredible energy, but will carry her vision for the organization forward as she would have wanted.”
Chase was raised in Santa Barbara. She enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and fell in love with graphic design. She went on to study medical illustration at the University of San Francisco before pursuing commercial design work.
Chase was revered in design circles for her gothic-inspired style. Some of her most notable work was featured on Madonna’s album “Like a Prayer” and the title sequence for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
She earned numerous industry accolades, including an award from the Professional Assn. for Design. After news of her death, admirers and colleagues took to social media to share how she had inspired their work and affected their lives.
Chase taught design classes and spoke at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Cal Arts in Valencia and other design schools.
Chase was an avid acrobatic pilot and an active member of the International Acrobatic Club. “Margo was one of the most skilled, talented, and dedicated people I have ever met in my life,” club President Mike Heuer said in a statement.
Chase is survived by her husband, Patrick Dugan; her parents, Nancy and Stillman Chase; and her siblings Jennifer Chase Pokorny and Brian and Jeff Chase.