Career
Named one of the "50 most influential designers working today", he served on the board of directors of the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts from 1996 to 1999, and again as president (2004–2006). On completion of Simmons" tenure, mayor Gavin Newsom issued an official proclamation declaring San Francisco to be a city where "design makes a difference." Christopher currently serves on the American Institute of Graphic Arts"s national board of directors. Simmons is the principal creative director of the San Francisco design office MINE and the creator of the art installation Everything is Oklahoma. The author of four books on graphic design, Simmons is also a frequent speaker on graphic design at schools and design organizations across the United States.
His column My First Time appears regularly in "STEP inside design" magazine.
He has contributed to works in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Institution, and exhibited works at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Hiroshima, Japan, Taipei Design Week, and the Brno Design Biennial. Simmons developed and taught courses in Identity Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and was an adjunct professor of design at the California College of the Arts (Chromated Copper Arsenate) in San Francisco (his alma mater).