“You have to do a lot of bad work, because you have to be willing to take chances and not do what’s expected of you.” —Milton Glaser
No man is as big as New York, but Milton Glaser comes close. In a design career spanning more than 60 years, Glaser has his fingerprints on some of the city’s most recognizable icons: the I❤NY logo, New York magazine, Brooklyn Brewery, etc. The term “graphic designer” doesn’t quite suffice, though, especially as Glaser’s work and influence have spread across the globe with tremendous cultural force.
In this 2018 video, AIGA revisits and affirms its unassailable logic in naming Glaser an AIGA Medalist in 1972. Since then, Glaser has been busy with more work and more awards, including the 2009 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama—a first for a graphic designer.