Milton
Glaser:
Lessons Learned
Milton Glaser was so many things—graphic designer, illustrator, author, Push Pin Studio co-founder, New York Magazine co-founder, SVA faculty emeritus, National Medal of the Arts recipient, renowned lunch aficionado, and funnyman extraordinaire, to name just a few. And yet, his greatest legacy may arguably be his perpetual role as benevolent teacher. We don’t just mean his 60 years in the classrooms of SVA... although those count for a lot. But we’re talking about the countless portfolio reviews he gave (formal and informal), the multitude of interview hours he contributed to the collective design conversation, the shelves of books he authored and contributed to, the many lecture and discussion panel stages he sat on, and—above all—the downright masterclass in graphic design that is his thick portfolio. Ok, let’s just say it: Milton Glaser might be the most influential graphic designer in history. So scroll down and start exploring the long shadow of this design legend.
Words by Jeffrey Kurtz & Design by Jeremiah McNair
M
ilton Glaser forged a seven-decade career in graphic design. That fact alone should reserve a chapter for him in the annals of design history. But Glaser didn’t just sit around. He created countless iconic designs you know and love, including a few you recognize but might not realize come from his portfolio. He perfected a timeless formula of playful experimentation and unflappable giving-a-damn-ness.
Use Color
with Purpose
Lesson 1
Distill Your Concept
An enduring symbol of the quintessential American city, and a revised version for the moment it was challenged the most. For the world, Glaser’s designs are as evocative of New York as the Empire State Building or a yellow taxi. For designers, they remind us that a crystal clear concept can transcend usual criticism.
Logic is not as
powerful as intuition.
Take a Leap
Certainty is a closing of the mind. To create something new you must have doubt.
The design brief for this project told Glaser to create a logo evoking the long defunct Brooklyn Eagle newspaper. (The original name was Brooklyn Eagle Beer.) Milton famously told them to, “forget the bird” and instead delivered an identity warmly reminiscent of Brooklyn’s long-lost Dodgers. We can all agree, baseball and beer go together better than newspapers and beer. This identity is a reminder that making time to understand your audience is a valuable investment of your time. PS: Speaking of investments, native New Yorker Glaser received a share in the brewery in exchange for his work on this logo. Smart move Mr. Milton!
important than being right.
Design has social meaning. Design has an impact on society, and that impact
can be beneficial.
Design With
Purpose
Do Your Research
color
Concept
guts
research
purpose
Commissioned by Columbia to promote Dylan’s Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, his first release after his mysterious 1966 motorcycle accident, Glaser set the stage early in his career for his mastery of color and historical reference (in this case, his interpretation of a 1958 Duchamp self-portrait with Islamic colors and forms). Glaser’s portfolio illustrates how color can dictate mood, composition and hierarchy when used with intuition and intention.
Glaser and Clay Felker co-founded New York magazine in 1968. They’d later say that they had much to learn about magazine making in those early days. Even so, Glaser was president and design director until 1977, and even penned a food column for several years. New York lives on as a testament to what designers can achieve with only a gutsy willingness to show up and learn on the job.
Created to shine awareness on government-sponsored brutalities in Darfur, this poster, funded by SVA, was hung large around town and plastered on Subway cars. This poster reminds us that Glaser taught us, again and again, that giving a damn is a crucial ingredient in making enduring and important work.
GLASER ON Intuition
Glaser on Integrity
"
"
"
"
Solving any problem is more
Logic is not as
powerful aS intuition.
powerful as intuition.
Logic is not as
The Lessons:
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Dylan
poster, 1966
Detail
hair color
Detail
silhouette profile
Detail
lettering
Self-Portrait in Profile by Marcel Duchamp
1957
Self-Portrait in Profile by Marcel Duchamp
color variations
Original concept sketch
New York Magazine, cover
July 22, 1968
Brooklyn Dodgers
logo
Poster variations, for NYC Subway
Daily News
full page printing
I Love New York
logo,1976
I Love New York More Than Ever
logo (revised), September 2001
Bootleg merchandise
Official merchandise
New York Magazine, cover
December 6, 1976
New York Magazine, cover
May 3, 1976
New York Magazine, logo
1968
New York Magazine
July 21, 1969
New York Magazine, cover
December 23, 1968
Brooklyn Lager,
cans
Variety pack,
packaging
Summer Ale,
packaging
Packaging
Brooklyn Brewery
identity 1988
Detail, names
Poster in SVA dorm
Poster variation
Detail, image
We Are All African
Poster, 2005
The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.
ilton Glaser was so many things—graphic designer, illustrator, author, Push Pin Studio and New York Magazine co-founder, faculty emeritus, National Medal of Arts recipient,
can be beneficial.
on society, and that impact
Design has an impact
Design has social meaning.
Glaser on Personal Legacy
you must have doubt.
the mind. To create something new
Certainty is a closing of
GLASER ON DOUBT
with those characteristics grows.
things vanishes and even modest talent
persistence. Talent without these
relationship to will, desire, and
independent element, but talent in
The real issue is not talent as an
GLASER ON DESIRE
purpose
research
guts
Concept
color
Learned
Lessons
Glaser:
Milton
Milton Glaser: Lessons Learned
Dylan, Poster, 1966
GLASER ON DESIRE
MADE WITH BY
MADE WITH BY
MADE WITH BY
MADE WITH BY