A look at the late designer and longtime faculty member’s influential work in periodicals
Throughout the 2021 – 2022 academic year, SVA is honoring the singular life of Milton Glaser, the legendary designer, longtime SVA faculty member and former acting chairman of the SVA Board, who died in 2020. Earlier this semester, the College’s in-house design studio, the Visual Arts Press, released the second issue of the Glaser Gazette, a limited-run publication dedicated to celebrating Glaser as a creative talent, mentor, colleague and friend.
With Volume 2 of the Gazette now widely available around campus, SVA will continue publishing select pieces online. Today’s excerpt, “Milton Magazine Revolution,” features many of the classic and now-iconic pieces of magazine design Glaser created for institutions like The New York Times, Life, New York, Wallpaper, the Los Angeles Times and many more.
Milton Glaser’s influence on magazines is profound, a natural outgrowth of his interest in the interplay between word and image. He produced countless memorable cover images for publications ranging from Time to Life to Rolling Stone to Idea. He famously co-founded New York magazine with Clay Felker on the top floor of his studio building on East 32nd Street and served as New York’s design director until 1977. New York served as the template for the many city-oriented publications that catered to savvy and sophisticated locals and its style continues to be emulated today.
Glaser’s publication design firm with Walter Bernard (1961 Graphic Design), WBMG, designed mastheads and redesigned publications for clients including Fortune, Lire, Jardins Des Modes and The Nation. Glaser also served as design director for short-lived but significant magazines like the elegantly-produced Audience (co-designed with Seymour Chwast) and the lovable children’s magazine Smash. He redesigned Paris Match in a weekend.
For a designer who did it all, magazines provided a perfect outlet for Glaser’s witty and literate approach to design problem-solving. Here are several examples of classic magazine art by Glaser.
The April 8, 1968, debut issue of New York, a magazine created by Milton Glaser and editor Clay Felker.
U&lc, Spring 1992, designed by Milton Glaser and Walter Bernard.
The cover of the September 7, 1970, issue of Time, featuring a portrait of actor Elliott Gould by Milton Glaser.
The cover of the June 9, 1975, issue of Rolling Stone, featuring a portrait of Stevie Wonder by Milton Glaser.
The cover of the September 22, 1997, issue of The Nation, featuring a portrait of former politician and convicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic by Milton Glaser.
The cover of the March 22, 1969, issue of Opera News, featuring an illustration by Milton Glaser.
The fold-out cover of the November 7, 1969, issue ofTime, featuring a California-themed illustration by Milton Glaser.
Masthead and publication redesign for Paris Match, c. 1973, by WBMG.
Unused study for Fortune 500 cover, 1997, by WBMG
A 1972 issue of Audience, featuring a cover art-directed by Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast and illustrated by Barbara Nessim.
The July 11, 1969, cover of Life, featuring portraits of Dustin Hoffman and John Wayne by Milton Glaser.
A cover illustration by Milton Glaser for The New York Times Magazine, 1992.
A cover design by Milton Glaser for Print, 1971.
A cover design by Milton Glaser for Wallpaper*, 2004.
The cover of the September 22, 2002, issue of the Los Angeles Times Book Review, featuring an illustration by Milton Glaser.