Willliam Honkanen arrived in New York City, in the fall 1984. His talent led him into position as a Fashion Illustrator/ Art Director for Celine of Paris in NYC from 1985 1987.
William’s print advertising, and editorial clients include: Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, Bride, Modern Bride, Savvy, Model, & Sports Wear International Magazines.
His advertising work has be published in The New York Times, Woman’s Wear Daily, The Daily News Record, Avenue, Dossiers, GQ & Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine.
Other projects include Cover and Poster Illustrations for the Santa Fe Opera, shoe illustrations for Italian shoe designer LineaAldo, Sketch Artist’s for events put on by Elizabeth Arden, Pierre Cardin, & L’agence, and display backdrops for fashion shows for Mademoiselle, and Benetton.
In 1987 William Honkanen’s print advertising caught the eye of MTV’s (founder and president of MTV Animation), Abby Terkuhle. This opened the door to animation and computer design. MTV commissioned William Honkanen to design logo identities for the Hit series MTV Unplugged and to redesign the MTV News. William created dozens of On Air Promotion Spots, and show opens for MTV & VH1.
During this time William Honkanen experimented with the emerging world of Digital Design. This exploration led to work including Poster art for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Next Wave Festival, and cover artwork for Malcom Forbes “Egg Magazine”, working with Hal Rubenstein (currently the fashion director at InStyle Magazine).
William worked during the1990's as a Fashion Photographer, and his work appeared in Model Magazine, Savvy Magazine, Modern Bride, and Conde Nast's Italian Style Magazine, Per Lui.
The broadcast work done for MTV and VH1 was spotted by NBC’s On Air Promo Department in 1992. Originally commissioned to create promotional advertising for the NBC’s Tonight Show, and the David Letterman Show, over the next two decade William Honkanen has done numerous show opens, promo spots, and design projects for NBC’s Today Show, Nightly News, Sports, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, the Miss America Pageant, Dateline.
William Honkanen received an Emmy for his contributions to the Rosie O’ Donnell Show in 1999, and was nominated for an Emmy for graphic design on the NBC Nightly News.
William was awarded a “Silver BDA” (Broadcasting Design Award) in 2004,
and a "Bronze BDA"(Broadcasting Design Award) for Art Direction and Design, in 2005, for animated design work on NBC’s Today Show.
2011 Nominated 38th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Main Title and Graphic Design. Senior Animator / Main Title Art Direction: TODAY Show.
2012 Nominated 39th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Main Title and Graphic Design. Senior Animator / Main Title Art Direction: TODAY Show.
Between 2003 and 2019 NBC Universal presented William 13 Independent “Ovation” awards for outstanding work and excellence.
""OVATION" Award December 2003, for (Outstanding Teamwork).
"OVATION" Award June 2004, for (Excellence).
"OVATION"Award November 2004, for (Above and Beyond Effort x4).
"OVATION"Award November 2005, for (Today Show Design).
"OVATION" Award November 2005, for (Where in the World is Matt Lauer).
"OVATION" Award April 2006, for (Where in the World is Matt Lauer).
""OVATION" Award January 2007, for (Imagination).
"OVATION" Award February 2007, for (Today Show 55th Anniversary).
"OVATION" Award May 2008, for (Excellence).
"SILVER OVATION" Award 2011, for (Above and Beyond + Imagination and Courage).
Between 2008 and 2019 William's unique cartoon likeness of Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb was the graphic branding for the TODAY Show's fourth hour.
CLIENT LIST
EDITORIAL: Vogue / Harper’s Bazaar / Esquire / Cosmopolitan / Mademoiselle / Bride / Modern Bride / Savvy / Model / Sports Wear International / Egg Magazine / ADVERTISING: Celine of Paris / Santa Fe Opera (Cover & Poster Illustrations) / Linea Aldo / Elizabeth Arden / Pierre Cardin / L’agence / Benetton / Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Next Wave Festival. / ADVERTISING WORK PUBLISHED IN: The New York Times / Woman’s Wear Daily / The Daily News Record / Avenue / GQ / Dossiers / Interview Magazine. / TELEVISION: MTV / VH1 / NBC Universal (Today Show, Tonight Show, Nightly News, Sports, Saturday Night Live, Conan O’Brien, Miss America Pageant, Dateline) / Trio / Rosie O’ Donnell Show.
