Ivan Chermayeff
07.12.17
Ivan Chermayeff, the legendary designer has passed away at the age of 85. During a career spanning 60 years, Ivan created commercial art, for banks, airlines, museums, tv networks, publishers, aquariums, advertising agencies and more. He was fundamental in defining the term of 'Graphic Design', and has inspired an industry of creatives.
Portrait of Tom Geismar & Ivan Chermayeff in the 1960s
[Images: courtesy Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv]
“Ivan was a brilliant designer and illustrator, with a vibrant personal style that reflected joy, intelligence and wit. He loved surprise, large-scale objects, and the color red. For over 60 years, Ivan and I have enjoyed a partnership, to which we each brought complimentary talents, in an alliance cemented by shared values and mutual respect. Ivan’s contribution to the field of design will remain unsurpassed.”
Tom Geismar said in a news release about Ivan’s passing
"A good trademark, whether a word mark or a symbol, is devoid of fashion or trend, which makes it potentially iconic if it's seen for long enough in the right places."
[Images: courtesy Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv]
“Ivan is a design icon, but he also was a mentor, a partner, and a friend,”
“He was obsessed with good design. And good to Ivan meant excellent–anything less than excellent wasn’t even design. Ivan’s relentless quest for the perfect relationship between form and idea is the highest inspiration anyone could hope for, and will be his lasting legacy to the industry and the people who knew him.”
Sagi Haviv, a partner at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv
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About the author, Adam
Adam is the design director of BrandCraft. BrandCraft is a branding and design consultancy based in Hong Kong. We specialise in branding, visual identity, corporate identity and rebranding.
Adam is a branding consultant and has worked with clients in the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Tokyo, South Korea and China. He has had self-initiated art and design projects exhibited at various galleries and museums including the Victoria & Albert Museum of Art and Design and regularly writes about branding and design theory.
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