About a hundred years ago, the first time I went to New York, I was invited along to Push Pin Studios by the English illustrator Barry Zaid who had recently been recruited. I was lucky enough to meet co-founder Seymour Chwaste while I was there but disappointingly, Milton Glaser the other founder, incredibly talented designer, illustrator and typographer - and now very famous for creating the I [heart] NY logo, was away at the time, though I did get to have a drink with him in London in the 70’s when he interviewed my other half, the illustrator Pauline Ellison about a work project.
In 1954 Glaser was a founder, and president, of Push Pin Studios formed with several of his Cooper Union classmates. Glaser's work is characterized by directness, simplicity and originality. He uses any medium or style to solve the problem at hand. His style ranges wildly from primitive to avante garde in his countless book jackets, album covers, advertisements and direct mail pieces and magazine illustrations. He started his own studio, Milton Glaser, Inc, in 1974. This led to his involvement with an increasingly wide diversity of projects, ranging from the design of New York Magazine, of which he was a co-founder, to a 600 foot mural for the Federal Office Building in Indianapolis.
Throughout his career he has had a major impact on contemporary illustration and design. His work has won numerous awards from Art Directors Clubs, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Society of Illustrators and the Type Directors Club. In 1979 he was made Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and his work is included in the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Israel Museum and the Musee de L'affiche in Paris. Glaser has taught at both the School of Visual Arts and at Cooper Union in New York City. He is a member of Alliance Graphique International (AGI).
In 2009, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.
