Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser is a renowned American graphic designer who has been respected in the design world since the 1960s. Born in 1929 in New York, Glaser first attended the Cooper Union School of Art and then went on to the Italian Academy of Art in Rome. Throughout his designs, his attention to detail and his enduring lifetime of work in the art domain, Glaser has become synonymous with smart and inventive graphic design.

Glaser is most famous for his interpretations of famous brand logos. This is most evident in his 1965 logo of the Beatles curved typeface logo, which was the first ever graphic design already symbol in the world. His portfolio of prints for the concert poster for Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits was also hugely popular and Grasers's design for the art magazine, ‘New York’, became one of the leading symbols of the city. The ‘I Love NY’ logo which was originally conceived in 1977 by Milton has become not only a worldwide symbol of New York, but also of American culture.

Glaser’s work includes more than 300 posters, for which he collaborated with artists such as Bob Dylan, Salvador Dali and Leonard Cohen, but also with the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, the Library of Congress, Yale, Harvard and Indiana University. Some of his most memorable prints are his poster and book illustration for Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl, colorfully illustrated body parts entitled ‘Men, Women & Children’, his drawing of cats in trees, his skyscapes and his drawings of musical instruments. Glaser has never ceased to experiment with color, using over 20 different layers of it in his work, inspiring many graphic designers of the time and to this day. His vibrant skills lent a unique and captivating style to his poster designs, prints and book illustrations.

Glaser was made a Royal Designer for Industry in Britain in 1987, the first Americans to be so honored since 1775. In the same year he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic in Italy, the highest recognition an artist can receive. Glaser has also had an astonishing number of honorary doctorates and is a member of the New York Chapter of the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts). Majority of these all relate to his accomplishments within the design world and his contribution to it.

Milton Glaser’s impact on the design industry is unsurpassable and will continue to live on. His art is some of the most recognizable and most quoted in the world of graphic design. He has said that ‘the only rule that I have is to be flexible and have an open mind to all the new ideas that enter conversation.’ This simple rule has allowed Glaser to be the creative and complex designer he has become known for.