DJ Stout is a sixth generation Texan, born in the small West Texas town of Alpine. He studied graphic design at Texas Tech University, where he was honored as a distinguished alumni. DJ began his graphic design career in 1981 working for Robert A. Wilson Associates in Dallas. In 1987 he moved to Austin, where he was the award-winning art director of the nationally respected and critically acclaimed Texas Monthly magazine. In January 2000 DJ joined Pentagram as a partner in the Austin office.

During his tenure at Texas Monthly the publication was nominated for ten National Magazine Awards and was awarded the prestigious prize three times. In a special 1998 issue, American Photo magazine selected DJ as one of the “100 most important people in photography” primarily because of the impressive body of original photographic works that he commissioned and art directed during his thirteen years at Texas Monthly.

At Pentagram DJ’s wide-ranging expertise encompasses the design and redesign of a variety of publications including magazines, books and catalogs. He and his team also specialize in identity design, branding, packaging, exhibitions and website design. DJ’s work has been widely published and has won countless design awards. In 2004 I.D. (International Design) magazine profiled DJ as one of its “Fifty American Designers” He is frequently asked to speak at design conferences and events and to judge competitions all over the world.

DJ’s design work is represented in several permanent collections including Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), The Contemporary Austin, the Southwestern Writers Collection and the Southwestern and Mexican Photography Collection in the Witliff Collections at Texas State University, the Harry Ransom Center (HRC) at the University of Texas, and the Library of Congress.