It was always Sonia to whom Tscherny attributed his success—“guiding me intellectually and ethically by softening the edges of someone who is by nature a blue-collar designer”—and whose keen eye passed over every piece of work leaving his office.

Tscherny taught at SVA for eight years, while continually building his portfolio and revolutionizing the graphic identities of his many corporate clients. “He presented ideas in the classroom, as in his work, with great clarity and understatement,” said artist and graphic designer Paul Davis (1959 Illustration), who studied with Tscherny at SVA. “He [was] always to the point, and with wit and humor.”

In 1997, Tscherny redesigned the SVA logo and identity program. “The solution was to contrast the icy perfection of the signature’s computer-generated Bodoni typeface with the spontaneity of the painterly mark,” he said of the new mark, which came to be known as “the flower.” The logo, still in use today, remains an exemplar of his design ethos and a testament to Tscherny’s ability to convey the qualities of a brand with a unique humanism. “George Tscherny’s flower/brushmark logo has been—and remains—the most ubiquitous mark of our College,” said SVA President David Rhodes. “For all of us and for people around the world, it’s the first mark one encounters when you think of SVA, or look us up, or get a message, or pass by our buildings, and it couldn’t be a simpler, more meaningful visual presence.”

Features

The legendary graphic designer and educator’s impact on SVA has resonated for decades.