Morningstar Receives AIGA Chicago Chapter Corporate Design Leadership Award

CHICAGO, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, received the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) Chicago Chapter Corporate Design Leadership Award at AIGA Chicago's annual membership meeting last night.

The meeting is part of AIGA's inaugural Chicago Design Week, honoring excellence in design within the Chicago design community. AIGA Chicago established the award in 2009 to recognize forward-thinking organizations in Chicago that have been instrumental in the advancement of design by promoting it as a meaningful business policy. The recipients of the award exhibit a commitment to design consistency and quality as a means to enhance their corporate message and brand experience. By demonstrating that design can improve a business' bottom line and competitive edge, recipients of this award serve as models for the successful interaction of aesthetics and pragmatics.

"The essence of the design story at Morningstar is that design is part of our core strategy. It's our business to present complex financial data and information in an accessible way to help investors make more informed decisions and take control of their own financial destinies," said David Williams, managing director of design at Morningstar.

"We currently have more than 50 designers globally who work in many areas of design: publications, websites, marketing and corporate communications, and even our interiors. Joe Mansueto, our CEO, has long regarded good design as part of the company's success and says one of his best early business decisions was hiring the legendary designer, Paul Rand, to design the company's logo in the early 1990s."

Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design. AIGA Chicago is a dynamic community of more than 1,600 members, including designers, communication professionals, design educators, and students. Since the chapter's founding in 1986, it has been a leader in advocating the importance of design. AIGA's purpose is to advance design as a professional craft, strategic tool, and vital cultural force, and the organization is committed to stimulating thinking about design through the exchange of ideas and information, the encouragement of critical analysis and research, and the advancement of education and ethical practice.

More information about the AIGA Chicago Corporate Design Leadership Award is available at http://www.aigachicago.org.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 350,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in two other countries.

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