Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, October 12, 2021: Milton Glaser, an American graphic designer (#1389)

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Artist of the Day, October 12, 2021: Milton Glaser, an American graphic designer (#1389)

Milton Glaser (1929-2020) studied at the Cooper Union Art School and as a Fulbright scholar. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts, in Bologna, Italy, under Giorgio Morandi. He is one of the single most celebrated and prolific designers in history. From 1954 to 1974 Glaser was the founder and president of the Push Pin studio (with Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins, and Edward Sorel) in New York, and from 1955 to 1974 the editor and co-art director of the Push Pin Graphic magazine. In 1968 Glaser and Clay Felker founded New York Magazine. Glaser was president and design director until 1977 (as well as its “underground gourmet”-writing about good, cheap restaurants in New York). In 1974 Glaser founded his current studio, Milton Glaser Inc., in Manhattan.

The work produced at his Manhattan studio has encompassed a wide range of design disciplines—print graphics; identity programs for corporate and institutional marketing purposes; logos (among them the “I ‘heart’ NY” logo for the New York State department of commerce, that became by far the most frequently imitated logo design in human history). He has designed and illustrated more than 300 posters, including the Bob Dylan iconographic poster for CBS records; environmental and interior design, including: exhibitions; interiors and exteriors of restaurants; shopping malls; supermarkets; hotels; and other retail and commercial environments. From 1975 to 1977 Milton Glaser was the design director of Village Voice magazine.

From the beginning of his career, Milton Glaser has been an active member of both the design and education communities, as well as exceptionally generous with his time and talents to charitable worthwhile causes. He continued to teach design at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Milton Glaser has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Lincoln Center Gallery, New York; the Houghton Gallery at the Cooper Union, New York; the AIGA gallery in New York; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His work is included in the permanent collections of many international art museums. Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum chose Milton Glaser to receive the 2004 national design award.

His designs are far reaching and although his humility defies people to admire him, his commitment to continually work to aid the public good is most admirable. Despite his disdain for professional admiration, he remains one of the lasting greats of modern design.

Milton has always understood the need to offer a visual voice to organizations that might not otherwise have the ability to make their voice heard. He firmly believes in social change, and makes it evident in the work he does, ranging from work done for the United Nations, to messages supporting peace. Milton’s ethics and morals are his compass, and his commitment to philanthropy is unsurpassed.

© 2021. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Milton Glaser or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only