In Memoriam: Milton Glaser, the designer who created the 1960s-70s look

On June 26, 2020, on his 91st birthday, American designer Milton Glaser died.

Milton Glaser is considered one of the most influential designers – not only in the US – of the last fifty years. It is especially memorable with the logo dedicated to New York (I ♥ NY) and the special poster dedicated to the singer Bob Dylan.

"Milton Glaser is the graphic designer who changed the vocabulary of the American visual culture of the 1960s-70s, with his expressive posters dominated by bright colors", writes, among others, the daily "New York Times", in the announcement article for his death.

"He is one of the most influential people in the history of design," designer Jonathan Barnbrook wrote on his Facebook account. "I can't imagine our community without him."

"Great loss for the world of design," wrote director Gary Hustwit on Instagram.

"Thank you for your transformative design, precise drawing, intelligence and love," added children's book illustrator Christoph Niemann.

Milton Glaser was born on June 26, 1929, in the Bronx, to parents Eugene and Eleanor (Bergman) Glaser – immigrants from Hungary. His father owned a dry cleaning and tailoring shop; his mother was a housewife. When Milton was a child, an older cousin drew a bird on a paper bag to amuse him.

"I almost fainted when I realized how easily life could be created with a pencil! At that moment, I decided how I will spend my life", said Glaser in 2014, in an interview for "Inc" magazine.

He took drawing lessons from Raphael and Moses Soyer, two socialist realist artists, before enrolling at the Manhattan High School of Music and Art.

After graduating from Cooper Union in 1951 - institute for the development of science and art - he works in the promotion department of the fashion magazine 'Vogue'. Later, he won the Fulbright scholarship to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Italy, where he studied engraving (graphics) with the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi. After completing his studies in Italy, he returned to New York, where in 1954, together with his classmates, he founded the design studio - "Push Pin Studios", of which he was elected president. This studio became known for its bright colors, comparative and exaggerated surrealism.

For Bob Dylan's famous 1967 poster - which was part of the promotion of his hit album - he created a simple silhouette of the singer's profile, taking inspiration from the black and white silhouette self-portrait , by contemporary artist Marcel Duchamp. Dylan's tousled hair is presented by the designer as colorful twisted ribbons, which are said to be borrowed forms from Islamic art. This poster was printed in nearly six million copies, becoming a part of homes around the world. it was reprinted several times and that look is one of the visual signatures of that period).

Glaser's next great work is undoubtedly "I ♥ NY" - the logo he created for a tourism campaign for New York City, sketched on an envelope while driving a taxi across the street. He made the rounded letters in black, while the heart symbolizing the word 'Love' was made in cherry red. Soon this logo becomes a beloved symbol and identifier for New York - as well known as two other famous symbols, such as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.

"I am surprised by everything that has happened with this little thing that was the result of a completely simple idea", the artist said in 2001, for the American weekly "The Village Voice", when after the terrorist attack of September 11 that year, thousands of T-shirts bearing his logo (expressing solidarity with New Yorkers) were sold. Inspired by this situation, he created a modified logo, which now read: "I ♥ NY More Than Ever" (I love New York more than ever), with a darkened part of the heart, which was printed on poster form.

By 1957, Glaser was married to photographer Shirley Girton.