'milton glaser: POP' will explore the illustrator's psychedelic world

monacelli to publish a vibrant overview of ‘glaser pop’

Next month, Monacelli will publish Milton Glaser: POP, a comprehensive overview of legendary illustrator Milton Glaser and his body of work created between 1954 and the late 1970s. While the artist is most widely known for his instantly recognizable ‘I ♥ NY’ logo and Bob Dylan album cover, the book will feature over a thousand illustrations and other works from his renowned career, providing an in-depth look at his creative process and the impact he had on the world of design long before his death in 2020.

Milton Glaser, a New Yorker and Cooper Union graduate, was one of the most influential illustrators and designers of the mid-twentieth century. He began his career in 1954 when, together with Seymour Chwast, he cofounded Push Pin Studio — a revolutionary graphic design group that upended the approach to illustration, advertising, and typeface design to introduce what he ‘reluctantly accepted was a psychedelic, LSD-influenced genre.’ Spanning a range of industries and all print media, his works showed a distinctive style characterized by soft, playful shapes rendered with bold line-drawings and filled with flat colors — all imbued with his whimsical sense of humor.

Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, Beth Kleber, published by Phaidon
all images © Estate of Milton Glaser

over 1,100 illustrations created between the 1950s to 1970s

As illustrated in Milton Glaser: POP, the artist‘s influence on the world of design was prolific — ranging from album covers, books, magazines, and advertisements. The book compiles over 1,100 images in vivid color, covering everything from album covers and books to magazines, advertisements, and logos. Glaser’s work was an integral part of the 1960s and ’70s, and the book is a thorough celebration of his revolutionary legacy.

The overview first explores his early work and his collaborative workflow with Seymour Chwast. Rather than chronologically, the work is organized formally, and divided into sections including Portraits and Faces, Silhouettes and Shadows, Rays and Rainbows, Outlines and Strokes, Frames and Geometries, Type and Symbols, and Die-cuts and Collages. This way, his most frequently used visual and conceptual components will be compiled and showcased.

The Poetry of the Blues by Samuel Charters. Book cover, 1970. Avon

the legacy of milton glaser

Milton Glaser: POP will be published by Monacelli and is authored by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber, who are among the most esteemed experts in the field, and are also former friends and collaborators of Glaser himself. Alongside an in-depth look at Glaser’s work across over twenty years, the book details the artist’s influences, philosophies, and personal impressions and regrets of his own legacy. Introducing the book, the authors write: ‘Other than the date when the work was made, what really is Glaser Pop? Style? Attitude? Movement? All of the above? That is what this book explores.’

In May 2000, designboom was fortunate to meet Milton Glaser in his New York studio, and you can enjoy the video interview in full here.

Manhattan Yellow Pages. Phone Book cover, 1971. New York Telephone
The Wiz. Album cover, 1975. Atlantic Records
Twen. Exhibition poster, 1965. 11 1⁄2 x 17 1⁄2 in. Visual Arts Gallery/School of Visual Arts