Notable Bronxite- Milton Glaser
Every tourist that comes to New York is either tempted to buy an I ♥ NY shirt, or is really looking forward to buying one. Heck, even native New Yorkers like myself own one. It's almost quintessentially New York- affirmative and in your face. We all recognize the image, but it's not common knowledge that the famed logo was designed by native Bronxite, Milton Glaser.
Milton Glaser was born to Hungarian parents in 1929 in what was considered the "Little Moscow" of the Bronx. Glaser described his Bronx neighborhood as "very militant left-wing and anti-capitalist." He continues and states that it was "the first neighborhood in the country to have interracial couples."
Milton Glaser's 1940 Census data
Milton lived a block away from the "Coops" (pronounced like chicken coop) officially named the United Workers Cooperative Colony. These cooperatively owned and ran apartment buildings were the largest in the city at the time they were built in 1927, and were mainly inhabited by Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Blacks were soon invited to join the Coops and thus made them one of the first integrated housing units in the US. Check out PBS' Independent Lens featured documentary At Home in Utopia for the very interesting story behind the Coops.
Living in this left-wing and liberal community impacted Glaser. He states:
"And it really shaped me into believing that one of the things you did in life was try to add to the dialogue of your time, and basically be active in the life of your city and community and your country. It was a wonderful moment..."
His mom was a housewife and his dad was a tailor who owned a tailor shop/dry cleaners a few blocks from their apartment. In fact, Milton's first job was that of a delivery boy for his father's shop. He stated that he learned his first marketing lesson when his father bought a nonfunctional dry cleaning machine and placed it in front of the shop to lure customers in because it gave the impression that the dry cleaning was being done in house.
His mom and dad both encouraged Milton to follow his artistic dreams, but in different ways. His mom was the 'you can do anything' type of mother, while his dad told him to prove it. And he did!
Milton's story is unique- he's a fulbright scholar and one of the most highly touted American graphic designers; yet he failed Pratt's art entrance exam, twice! However, he undeniable found the success that his dad told him to prove.
In 1954, he co-founded Push Pin Studios with Bronxite Seymour Chwast and Edward Sorel. Push Pin Studios was so successful that the Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre in Paris exhibited their work. In 1966 he was commissioned by John Berg, art director at Columbia Records, to work on a foldable poster for Bob Dylan's greatest hits LP. The album sold over 6 million copies and thus distributing Glaser's Dylan poster to over 6 million people!
While still at Push Pin, Glaser co-founded New York magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.
After 20 years of service with Push Pin Studios, Milton branched out on his own and opened Milton Glaser, Inc. which is still open today.
The 70s were a tough time for NYC, and New York state wanted to create a logo to promote tourism. Deputy Commissioner Doyle, hired advertising agency Wells Rich Greene for the marketing campaign, and they enlisted Glaser as the graphic designer. The union produced a pop-culture icon- a marketing campaign that has lasted over 30 years and a worldwide recognizable logo that is often imitated, but it is never as good as the original.
Original sketch
Official Logo
The New York State Empire State Development owns the trademark for the logo, not Glaser. In fact, the logo was done pro-bono and he does not get any royalties for the usage of the logo. His response to the pro-bono work:
"...that’s what it should be. You want to do things like that, where you feel you can actually change things. ...For the right project, you can get good people—the best people—to work for nothing, which is one of the characteristics of being in the world of Eros—you don’t work for money, but you certainly work for your peers’ approval."
Most recently, Glaser worked on the Mad Men campaign for it's final season which airs this Sunday at 10:00PM. I can't think of anyone better than Milton Glaser to work on an advertising campaign for a fictional NYC advertising agency from the 1960s.
Milton Glaser found the success his mom knew he could achieve, and the type of success his father prompted him to prove. His time in the Bronx had a positive effect on him and his setbacks did not deter him from achieving success. We're proud to feature Milton Glaser as the notable Bronxite of the month!