Milton Glaser: POP

An overview of the work of illustrator and designer Milton Glaser during the 1960s and 70s

by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber

From 1954, when he co-founded the legendary Push Pin Studios, to the late ’70s, Milton Glaser was one of the most celebrated graphic designers of his day, whose work graced countless book and album covers, posters, magazine covers, and advertisements, both famous and little-known. Glaser largely defined the international visual style for illustration, advertising, and typeface design and interest in his legacy continues unabated, with modern creatives acknowledging his influence; for example, in 2014 Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner enlisted Glaser to design the ad campaign and branding for the show’s final season.

His renowned work garnered solo exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Creator of the iconic ‘I love NY’ logo (featuring a heart symbol in place of the word ‘love’) and cofounder of New York magazine, Glaser received numerous accolades and lifetime achievement awards. Across thousands of works across all print media, he invented a graphic language of bright, flat color, drawing, and collage, imbued with wit. This collection of work from Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of his design that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.

Hardcover | 288 pages | Phaidon | 2023

Steven Heller is cofounder of the MFA Design / Designer as Entrepreneur at School of Visual Arts, the program where Milton Glaser taught his Design and Intentions course for over ten years. He is also the author or coauthor of more than two hundred books on design and popular culture, most recently his memoir Growing Up Underground: A Memoir of Counterculture New York (2022). He has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic online, and Wired, among many other publications.

Mirko Ilić is a designer, illustrator, and activist based in New York. He organizes and curates shows and lectures around the world, including most recently the Tolerance Poster Show, which has traveled to more than 150 locations in more than forty countries worldwide. He is the coauthor of more than ten books, including The Design of Dissent with Milton Glaser. Not only did he and Milton collaborate on many projects together, but their studios were adjacent to each other for decades.

Beth Kleber is the founding archivist of the Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives at School of Visual Arts Archives in New York City. Prior to opening the Archives to the public, Beth spent two years selecting and preparing the collection with Milton Glaser at his studio on 32nd Street. In her role as Head of Archives, she lectures on design history and research and assists visiting researchers. She is curator and cocurator of several design exhibitions, and her essays have appeared in design anthologies and PRINT magazine, as well as contributing to the Container List blog.