Designers to Know
Meet the people behind some of graphic design’s most useful ideas. Explore their work by discipline, then open a short profile to see what to study and where to go next.
Another branch of the knowledge base
Explore people by discipline
Start with a field, follow a name, and look at the work. These are selected references, with room for many more voices.
01Identity and Branding
02Editorial and Publication
03Marketing and Advertising
04Packaging and Product Graphics
05Environmental and Spatial Design
06Digital and Interface Design
07Motion and Time-based Design
08Information and Data Design
09Illustration and Image-making
A useful starting point
Small profiles. Big ideas.
Search by designer or area of practice, then open a profile for defining work, a study prompt, and links into the Wiki and archive.
April Greiman
Digital image-making and layered composition
Greiman explored the computer as a creative medium, combining type, photography, and digital imagery into a distinctive spatial language.
Selected work and contributions
- The large-format Does It Make Sense? composition for Design Quarterly 133.
- Early use of Macintosh tools in an experimental editorial project published by the Walker Art Center.
What to studyStudy how tools can change the construction of an image, rather than only speed up an existing process.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Timeless Designers: The Icons Who Refused to Chase Trends
- UX&UI in the Early Days: Web Design in the 80s and 90s
Sources and original work
April Greiman — Does It Make Sense?Cipe Pineles
Editorial art direction and illustration
Pineles helped shape magazine design through a practice that brought visual authorship and editorial content into close conversation.
Selected work and contributions
- Art director at Glamour, Seventeen, and Charm.
- The first woman admitted to the Art Directors Club, with her archive preserved at RIT.
What to studyLook at how images, typography, and editorial intent can strengthen one another across a publication.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
Sources and original work
RIT — Cipe Pineles archiveDon Norman
Human-centred design and understandable interaction
Norman is a design researcher and writer whose work helps explain how people understand actions, feedback, and the behaviour of products.
Selected work and contributions
- Author of The Design of Everyday Things.
- His writing connects observation, psychology, and practical design decisions.
What to studyAsk whether someone can discover the next action and understand what happened afterward.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
Sources and original work
Don Norman — The Design of Everyday ThingsEdward Tufte
Evidence and quantitative information
Tufte is a writer and information-design reference whose work examines how visual choices reveal or distort evidence.
Selected work and contributions
- Author of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
- Analyses chart construction, small multiples, and misleading visual variation.
What to studyCompare what a graphic makes visually prominent with what the underlying evidence actually supports.
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Sources and original work
Edward Tufte — The Visual Display of Quantitative InformationJan Tschichold
Typography and publication systems
Tschichold’s career connects experimental modern typography with the patient work of making books consistent and comfortable to read.
Selected work and contributions
- A central figure in the New Typography movement.
- Standardised Penguin’s typography through the Penguin Composition Rules and designed Sabon.
What to studyCompare expressive typographic experiments with the quieter rules that support extended reading.
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In the rausr archive
Josef Müller-Brockmann
Structured typography and visual rhythm
Müller-Brockmann’s posters show how a disciplined arrangement of type and abstract form can create clarity and energy together.
Selected work and contributions
- Musica Viva concert posters for Zürich.
- A substantial collection of concert, exhibition, and public-information posters held by MoMA.
What to studyLook at alignment, scale, intervals, and empty space as active parts of the message.
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In the rausr archive
Kyle Cooper
Title sequences and cinematic atmosphere
Cooper uses editing, typography, texture, and sound relationships to make a title sequence part of the film’s storytelling.
Selected work and contributions
- The title sequence for Se7en, directed by David Fincher.
- Title work for Nixon following the Se7en collaboration.
What to studyWatch how rhythm and image detail establish a world before the main narrative begins.
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In the rausr archive
Lance Wyman
Place identity and visual wayfinding
Wyman connects the character of a place with practical signs and symbols, helping identity and orientation become one experience.
Selected work and contributions
- Mexico 1968 identity work with collaborators.
- Mexico City Metro identity, icons, and wayfinding developed with the project team.
What to studyStudy how symbols help someone recognise both a destination and its place within a larger network.
- Identity and Branding
- Environmental and Spatial Design
- Information and Data Design
- Illustration and Image-making
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In the rausr archive
Margaret Calvert
Public information and legible signs
Calvert’s work shows how lettering, symbols, scale, and context combine to make public information dependable.
Selected work and contributions
- Co-designed Britain’s road signage system with Jock Kinneir.
- Designed Rail Alphabet 2 with Henrik Kubel for Network Rail.
What to studyTest communication at the speed, distance, and viewing conditions in which people need it.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Graphic Design and Traffic Signs: Perfected System or Missed Opportunity?
- How Graphic Design Shapes Our Lives (And We Barely Notice)
Sources and original work
Design Museum — Margaret CalvertMassimo Vignelli
Grids, identity systems, and information hierarchy
Vignelli applied a disciplined visual language across identity, publications, maps, and environments, often in collaboration with Lella Vignelli and their teams.
Selected work and contributions
- New York subway mapping and signage work through Unimark.
- A cross-disciplinary practice documented in the Lella and Massimo Vignelli archives at RIT.
What to studyStudy the relationship between a stable grid and the very different content it must support.
- Identity and Branding
- Editorial and Publication
- Environmental and Spatial Design
- Information and Data Design
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Metro Orientation Design: How to Communicate Fast Under Pressure
- Stay Normal: Why Consistency Beats Trends in Graphic Design
Sources and original work
RIT — Vignelli archivesMichael Bierut
Identity systems across many touchpoints
Bierut connects a clear identity idea with the many practical formats in which an organisation needs to communicate.
Selected work and contributions
- Identity projects for MIT Media Lab, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Mastercard with his teams.
- The books How To and Now You See It connect design practice with reflection and criticism.
What to studyFollow an idea from the first mark into its everyday applications and operational rules.
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In the rausr archive
- Workflow for Complex Branding Design Across Print and Digital
- The Evolution of Yahoo Design: From Portal Chaos to Purple Precision
Sources and original work
Pentagram — Michael BierutMilton Glaser
Illustration, visual ideas, and cultural communication
Glaser combined drawing, art direction, and graphic wit in work that made a complex feeling understandable through a memorable image.
Selected work and contributions
- The I Love NY identity and the Bob Dylan poster.
- Co-founded New York magazine with Clay Felker and Walter Bernard.
What to studyLook for the conceptual link between the picture and the message before borrowing the surface style.
- Identity and Branding
- Editorial and Publication
- Marketing and Advertising
- Illustration and Image-making
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Timeless Designers: The Icons Who Refused to Chase Trends
- Creativity Is a Paintless Process: Why Great Ideas Need Time, Focus, and Solitude
Sources and original work
Cooper Hewitt — Milton GlaserOtl Aicher
Pictograms and coordinated visual systems
Aicher treated communication as a system of relationships, making typography, symbols, colour, and placement work together.
Selected work and contributions
- Directed the visual design programme for the Munich 1972 Olympics.
- The sports pictograms, developed with collaborators including Gerhard Joksch, used a consistent geometric grammar.
What to studyCompare the individual symbol with the rules that make the whole family coherent.
- Identity and Branding
- Environmental and Spatial Design
- Information and Data Design
- Illustration and Image-making
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Exhibition & Event Graphic Design in 2026: Clarity Wins in a Visual Smog
- Metro Orientation Design: How to Communicate Fast Under Pressure
Sources and original work
Olympic Studies Centre — sports pictogramsPaul Rand
Ideas, symbols, and corporate identity
Rand connected a clear visual idea with a repeatable identity, often using wit, geometry, and unexpected combinations.
Selected work and contributions
- Identity work for IBM, ABC, and NeXT.
- His NeXT presentation booklet shows how a mark can be explained as a coherent design argument.
What to studyStudy how a small visual device becomes memorable through its idea and consistent use.
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In the rausr archive
Paula Scher
Expressive type and identity at every scale
Scher uses typography as image, building identities that travel between posters, institutions, publications, and physical spaces.
Selected work and contributions
- The Public Theater identity and its evolving campaign language.
- Identity systems for Citibank and Tiffany & Co., developed with her teams.
What to studyLook at how a strong typographic voice can stay recognisable while individual applications change.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Exhibition & Event Graphic Design in 2026: Clarity Wins in a Visual Smog
- The Evolution of Microsoft Windows Design: From Engineer Screens to Calm Fluent Surfaces
Sources and original work
Pentagram — Paula ScherPeter Saville
Music packaging and cultural art direction
Saville builds a visual world around music and culture, often using unexpected references and a deliberately restrained presentation.
Selected work and contributions
- Record sleeves for Joy Division and New Order through Factory Records.
- Art direction and identity work extending from music into fashion and cultural communication.
What to studyStudy how the choice of image and its context can carry an identity even when the brand is quiet.
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In the rausr archive
- The Art of the Album Cover: Iconic CD Designs & the Creators Behind Them
- Most Famous Fashion Brands: The Story Behind Their Brand Design
Sources and original work
Design Museum — Peter SavilleSaul Bass
Graphic reduction and storytelling in time
Bass brought a concise graphic language to film posters and titles, using shape, movement, and sequence to set the mood of a story.
Selected work and contributions
- Title design for Spartacus.
- Poster designs for The Shining, developed through an extensive dialogue with Stanley Kubrick.
What to studyWatch how a reduced form gains meaning through timing and its relationship to the film.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- Graphic Design in the 20th Century: The Era That Made Modern Visual Culture
- Typography in Lights: The Design Behind Hollywood's Opening Credits
Sources and original work
Design Museum — Kubrick’s design collaborationsStefan Sagmeister
Conceptual imagery and tactile storytelling
Sagmeister uses physical interventions, image-making, and typography to give an idea an emotional and material presence.
Selected work and contributions
- Music artwork for Lou Reed and Talking Heads.
- A practice spanning album packaging, publications, exhibitions, and self-initiated visual experiments.
What to studyAsk what the material or production method contributes to the idea, beyond its novelty.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- The Art of the Album Cover: Iconic CD Designs & the Creators Behind Them
- Timeless Designers: The Icons Who Refused to Chase Trends
Sources and original work
Stefan Sagmeister — selected workSusan Kare
Interface icons with human character
Kare made early computer interfaces more approachable through economical pixel drawings, symbols, and type.
Selected work and contributions
- Icons, typefaces, and screen graphics for the original Macintosh.
- A wider practice in software iconography, including work for Microsoft and other technology companies.
What to studyExamine how a tiny image communicates a function without losing warmth or distinctiveness.
Study the related practice
In the rausr archive
- The Evolution of Microsoft Windows Design: From Engineer Screens to Calm Fluent Surfaces
- Design Ups & Downs of Apple macOS: The Signature That Survived Every Redesign
Sources and original work
Susan Kare — biography and practiceNo profiles match that search. Try a name or a broader discipline.
