Milton Glaser was a iconic designer who revolutionized the second half of the 20th century with his proposals. He is one of the reference points on American design style and proposals, and has often been referred to as a “design monster.”
His life was full of incredible moments and designs. He was considered a very rare species in the world of design, something like a modern renaissance man. He combined his knowledge and practices as a designer, illustrator and intellectual, and his works and proposals revolved around an understanding and conceptualization of visual language. That is why he has transcended his own death on June 26, 2020. Coincidentally, he died on the same day he was born in 1929, June 26.
Training and history of designer Milton Glaser
On June 26, 1929, Milton Glaser was born in the Bronx neighborhood., in New York City. His artistic training took him to different spaces: the Higher School of Music and Art and the Cooper Union School of Art, where he was educated between 1948 and 1951. And later to the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna, in Italy, through a Fulbright scholarship. There he learned, rubbed shoulders and nurtured with other great artists, among them the painter Giorgio Morandi.
His career is full of milestones, including the creation of the famous Push Pin Studios in 1954, along with his partner Seymour Chwas. A most influential design studio since the mid-50s and for more than 30 years. The quantity, quality and effectiveness of its work is synonymous with success, and during those years Milton's career and his working method marked the times in American graphic design.
Another great creation of Milton Glaser was the New York Magazine. Together with Clay Felker Felker created a magazine in 1974 that addressed different topics, from lifestyles and cultural proposals, to politics and science. The magazine was a competitor of The New Yorker and Milton presided over it and was its designer until 1977. There he demonstrated much of his potential and style, becoming established as a reference in the world of graphic design.
Emblematic works and contrasts of designer Milton Glaser
La Milton Glaser's prolific career It is represented by various posters and engravings. For example, the Bob Dylan poster that became iconic in the 60s and today is a reference for American graphic design is his authorship. Her work was also very focused on the design of corporate images and editorial design, thus allowing the exploration of new techniques and styles when combining elements in an editorial piece. She has worked in different publications including Village Voice, La Vanguardia, Esquire and Paris Macht, among others.
Regarding corporate image, it is the creator of the DC Comics logo, and the Grand Union supermarket company that in the seventies was in charge of everything related to visual art. But it was also Milton who created other emblems of New York. For example, the iconic symbol of I Love New York (where the word Love is replaced with a heart and only the first letter of each word is used, it is Glaser). He sketched it on a napkin and two years later it became one of the most requested pieces for stickers and souvenirs from the Big Apple.
What is the Glaser style like?
Eclectic and with very varied influences, Milton Glaser's style was reflected in different letters. For the most part, they are more decorative and attractive posters than legible ones. Unlike other designers, he was not a fervent follower of orthodoxy or classical methodology. In each of his pieces a restless spirit was reflected, more interested in telling his own version and way of seeing the world, than in responding to the guidelines or basic proposals demanded by the established canons.
Throughout its history, and thanks to its multiple proposals, it has been exhibited in different rooms around the world. He was at the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, passing through many other spaces between the two where art, design and image are the most important things.
Drawing as a door to creative freedom
His stay and training in Italy, Milton Glaser extracted drawing as a primary tool to inspire and relate the world. His ability to experiment and learn through art, added to his knowledge of engraving techniques, helped him find his own way of expressing himself. Less linear and much more flexible.
The proposals of the designer Milton Glaser were closer to the illustration. With a strong influence of the Swiss School that dominated at the time of its formation, the prevailing aesthetic guidelines of a new avant-garde. In his reflection and way of working, Glaser also coined phrases that became iconic when exploring the world of design.
- “Less is not necessarily more.”
- “The I♥NY logo was born in 1977 and today you can still find it in Chinatown.”
- “Being imaginative is essential. You have to discover things, observe.”
- “Everything is inevitably connected and the artist's task is to find the connections.”
In this way of thinking, we also find another very relevant trait about Milton Glaser. His ability to teach, transmit and mentor other artists and designers who, inspired by their history and their work, have turned to the world of graphic design.
Without a doubt, Milton Glaser has gone down in history as a designer who broke the mold and managed to become a reference point for an industry that was gaining great strength. His death left a hole in the artistic world, but it also left a great legacy. With the passage of time he resignifies himself and continues to be present in the training, history and influence of many other contemporary artists and designers. Remembering it, understanding it and sharing it are part of the role of new artists to have a complete vision to understand the world.