kingy graphic design history: Post 2: Cien: TIBOR KALMAN

Tibor Kalman.

“I see this as a business that affects people’s lives and affects peoples brains”

In the mid-1980s two names changed graphic design, one of those being Tibor Kalman. Tibor Kalman, who died on May 2, 1999, after a long, courageous battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was one of the small number of graphic designers whose endeavors were legend within the field and widely known outside as well.

Tibor may not be as influential on the daily practice of graphic design as the Mac, but his influence over how designers think and how they define their role s in culture and society is indisputable. For a decade he was the design profession’s moral compass and its most passionate provocateur.

Kalman was best known for the groundbreaking work he created with his New York design firm M & Co, and his brief yet influential editorship of Colours magazine.

Throughout his 30 year career, Kalman brought his restless interrlectual curiosity and subversive wit to everything he worked on. From Album cov ers to Talking Heads, to the redevelopment of Times Square he was a sure inspiration and freshness to the design world.

Kalman incorporated visual elements other designers had never associated with successful design, and used his work to promote his radical politics

Tibor Kalman founded the legendary, multidisciplinary design firm M&Co in 1979. In collaboration with his wife Maira, the abstractly progressive firm primarily created gr

aphics, magazines and film titles, and books. Following the release of a record album cover for the rock band Talking Heads, M&Co gained major attention for "pushing the envelope" on conventions of design and typography, and went on to become a major influence on emerging designers.

The Kalman's social concerns and reactions to modern attitudes resulted

in products that are enjoyed internationally as they address current issues, including time (5 o'clock really is the most important time for many of us) and garbage (crumpled paper can have a real nice look). Their eccentric line of watches, clocks, and paperweights, which combine wit and whimsy with good graphic design, helped ignite the current demand for designer-created products.