Top 10 Graphic Designers in the world

 Top 10 Graphic Designers in the world 


Top 10 graphic designers in the world, you ought to be ready to name-drop


We all know that as graphic designers we've to review those that came before us and advanced the sector of design. Here at 99designs, we love focusing on the work of a number of the biggies. We’ve covered giants like Paul Rand, Milton Glaser, Saul Bass, and more on this blog.


But there are tons of famous graphic designers, hundreds actually, who have made hugely significant contributions to graphic design at large who you furthermore may get to know, and as stated within the title of this post — got to be ready to name-drop during a conversation. Know them, their name, their work, and their influence! It’ll cause you to a more complete designer and ready to delay your own during a conversation about the sector (in no specific order).

Top 10 graphic designers in the world

1. Otl Aicher

Otl Aicher



Good art inspires; Good design motivates.”

Nationality: German

Studied at: Academy of Fine Arts Munich

Era active: 1940s through 1980s

Specialties: Identity, typography

Known for: Lufthansa branding, 1972 Munich Olympics, Ulm School of Design

Find out more:otlaicher.com


2. Michael Beirut

Michael Beirut



Mohawk paper identity: Michael Beirut (via Designboom)


Only good work results in doing more good work.”

Nationality: American

Studied at: University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning

Era active: 1980s through the present

Specialties: Identity and print work, design writing and criticism

Known for: Redesign of The Atlantic, graphics for the NY Times building

Find out more: Pentagram.com


3. Neville Brody

Neville Brody



Design is quite just a couple of tricks to the attention. It’s a couple of tricks to the brain.”

Nationality: British

Studied at: London College of Printing

Era active: 1970s through present

Specialties: Typography, art direction

Known for: The Face Magazine, Arena Magazine, record sleeve art

Find out more: Interview with Eye Magazine


4. David Carson

David Carson



Graphic design will save the planet right after rock and roll do.”

Nationality: American

Studied at: Oregon College of economic Art

Era active: 1980s through present

Specialties: Magazine design, art direction

Known for: Ray Gun Magazine

Find out more: davidcarsondesign.com


5. Alan Fletcher

Alan Fletcher



I wish to reduce everything to its absolute essence because that's how to avoid getting trapped during a style.

Nationality: British

Studied at: Hammersmith School of Art, Central School of Art, Royal College of Art, Yale School of Architecture

Era active: 1960s – 1990s

Specialties: Identity design, book design

Known for: Founding Partner of Pentagram, The Art of Looking Sideways

Find out more: alanfletcherarchive.com


6. Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd



Never fall crazy with a thought. They’re whores: if the one you’re with isn’t doing the work, there’s always, always, always another.

Nationality: American

Studied at: Pennsylvania State University

Era active: 1980s through the present

Specialties: Book cover design

Known for: numerous awesome book covers and his work with graphic novels

Find out more: chipkidd.com


7. Armin Hofmann

Armin Hofmann



There should be no separation between spontaneous work with an emotional tone and work directed by the intellect. Both are supplementary to every other and must be considered intimately connected. Discipline and freedom are thus to be seen as elements of equal weight, each partaking of the opposite .”

Nationality: Swiss

Studied at: Apprenticed in lithography

Era active: 1940s through 1980s

Specialties: Poster design

Known for: His teachings as head of Schule für Gestaltung Basel, poster for Giselle

Find out more: Thinking form: Armin Hofmann


8. Herb Lubalin

Herb Lubalin



You can do an honest ad without good typography, but you can’t do an excellent ad without good typography.

Nationality: American

Studied at: Cooper Union 

Era active: 1940s through 1980s

Specialties: Typography, art direction

Known for: ITC Avant Garde font, work on Eros and Avant Garde magazines

Find out more: The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography


9. Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan Sagmeister



It is extremely important to embrace failure and to try to do tons of stuff — the maximum amount stuff as possible — with as little fear as possible. It’s much, far better to finish up with tons of crap having tried it than to overthink within the beginning and not roll in the hay .

Nationality: Austrian

Studied at: University of Applied Arts Vienna, Pratt Institute

Era active: 1990s through the present

Specialties: Album covers, typography

Known for: Lou Reed Poster, book Things I even have learned in my life thus far 

Find out more: sagmeisterwalsh.com


10. Paula Scher

The Public Theater



You never can do what the youngsters do. What you are doing is check out yourself and find your own thanks to addressing the very fact that the days have changed which you've got to concentrate. You can’t be a designer and say, ‘Oh, this is often timeless.’ Nothing is timeless!

Nationality: American

Studied at: Tyler School of Art

Era active: 1970s through the present

Specialties: Branding and identity, album covers, illustration

Known for: Her poster work, and being the primary female principal at Pentagram

Find out more: paulascher.com


What other famous graphic designers should we be talking about? allow us to know within the comments!



3 Comments