Milton Glaser

     

           American graphic designer and illustrator Milton Glaser was born in New York City, New York in 1929. After attending the High School for Music and Design in New York, Glaser went on to study at Cooper Union and finally the Academy of Fine Art in Bologna. After graduating from the Academy, he went on to establish Push Pin Studios in 1954, New York Magazine in 1968, Milton Glaser Inc. in 1974, and finally WBMG in 1983.

            Milton Glaser’s legacy began midway through the 20^th century with the establishment of Pushpin Inc. alongside his fellow Cooper graduates Seymour Chwast, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins. With the company under the direction of Glaser and Chwast, Pushpin Inc. became a guiding light in the world of graphic design and illustration. The studio’s contributions to design eventually earned Glaser (and Push Pin Inc.) an exhibition titled “The Push Pin Style” at the Louvres in Paris.

            Following Push Pin, Glaser along with Clay Felker founded New York Magazine in 1968, where Milton was president and design instructor for the next nine years. Glaser’s next venture led him to establishing WBMG, a publication design firm headed by Walter Bernard in 1983. WBMG provides design consulting for the Washington Post, TIME Magazine, Windows, and more.

            In 1974, Glaser established his Manhattan based studio, Milton Glaser, Inc. providing a wide gamut of design advice by encompassing a variety of formal design principles in offering consultation and development in graphic design, illustration, architecture, interior design, etc. Under Milton Glaser Inc., he was able to establish his prolific logo designing abilities with his generating of signage for FedEx, IBM, UPS, ABC, and the most viewed, and imitated, graphic of all time, “I [Heart] New York”.

 In addition to his commercial undertakings, Glaser’s independent achievements include complete creative control of the restaurants in the World Trade Center, one-man exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou and the MoMA, and receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum for his influence on the contemporary practice of design. Milton Glaser’s abilities expand outside of design and into education with his instructing and advising at the School of Visual Arts, New York, Cooper Union, and the American Institute for Graphic Arts. Personal works by Glaser are currently held at the MoMA in New York, the National Archive, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

           

Cite Sources

·         "Milton Glaser." Web log post. Milton Glaser. Milton Glaser Inc., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.miltonglaser.com/milton/>.

·         Airey, David. "Iconic Logo Designers." Iconic Logo Designers. David Airey, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. http://www.logosdesigners.com/.