“I ♥ NY” logo Made for a 1977 tourism campaign, the logo rapidly gained recognition across the world and has been described as the most frequently imitated in history.
Glaser later said he was “flabbergasted by what happened to this little, simple nothing of an idea”.
Milton Glaser The co-founder of New York magazine died of natural causes on his birthday, according to the magazine’s obituary.
“Around our office, of course, he will forever be one of the small team of men and women that, in the late sixties, yanked New York out of the newspaper morgue and turned it into a great American magazine,” the magazine’s city editor Christopher Bonanos wrote.
A lifelong New Yorker, Glaser was born in the Bronx on June 26, 1929. He studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a college in Manhattan, and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Italy.
In 1954, Glaser formed the graphic design firm Push Pin Studios with three Cooper Union classmates after graduating, also co-founded New York magazine in the late 1960s.
After the 9/11 attacks destroyed the World Trade Center in 2001, Milton Glaser added a twist to the logo that was featured on the cover of the Daily News.
After the 9/11 attacks, the Daily News printed a modified version of the ‘I ♥ NY’ logo. Glaser smudged part of the heart in “I ♥ NY,” and added the words “More Than Ever.”
“I was trying to think what the most powerful thing you can say about us, a city,” Glaser told The News at the time. “This blow has made us even stronger and more powerful in our passion for New York.”
He revised the logo in hope of making a bold statement about the city’s resiliency and strength.
“It’s a little like when someone who you love has a heart attack,” he said. “They almost die, but it makes you realize you love them more than ever.”
In 2009, Glaser was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.
Milton Glaser Graphic Design Quotes
“PROFESSIONALISM IS NOT ENOUGH.”
“LOGIC IS NOT AS POWERFUL AS INTUITION.”
“I AM A GREAT BELIEVER IN THE PRIMACY OF DRAWING AS A MEANS OF ENGAGING THE WORLD & UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT.”
“TELL THE TRUTH.”
“THERE ARE THREE RESPONSES TO A PIECE OF DESIGN—YES, NO, AND WOW! WOW IS THE ONE TO AIM FOR.”
“DOUBT IS BETTER THAN CERTAINTY. ”
“YOU CAN ONLY WORK FOR PEOPLE WHO YOU LIKE.”
“DESIGN IS MOVING AN EXISTING CONDITION TO A PREFERRED ONE.”
“LESS IS NOT NECESSARILY MORE.”