Since 1963 Graphic Design USA has been the news magazine for graphic designers and other creative professionals.
The 9th May 1963 is the actual date of GDUSA’s 50th Anniversary, the moment the first edition rolled off the printing press.
To honor the community they serve, USGD conducted a series of 50th Anniversary surveys to more than 40,000+ creative professionals about who they respect and what they admire in the world of graphic design
These have truly resonated, not as scientific truths but as fun, informational and provocative lists.
USGD thought long and hard about how best to note their 50th anniversary without making it about themselves.
Out of the process two points emerged.
1) This accident of the calendar presents an opportunity to celebrate the past, present and future of the graphic design community.
2) We think the best way to do this is to ask your opinion on some provocative and fun topics because, frankly, you know more than we do and we just like hearing from you
So in honor of our 50th anniversary, USGD conducted a nationwide survey of the graphic design community.
In each print and app edition of GDUSA this year, they will present selected results of a massive poll conducted this winter about who you respect and what you admire.
Top 10 Posters
1 / Bob Dylan by Milt Glaser
Top 25 Corporate Logos
1 / CBS by William Golden
Other Top Design Projects
1 / I (HEART) NY by Milton Glaser
Favorite Album Covers
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon by Storm Thorgerson Hipgnosis
Albums as we knew them no longer matter much to the music world but, for designers, album cover art still represents a graphic high note. Here are the top 10 including Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon designed by Storm Thorgerson, who passed away last month.
“Design talent is diverse, individualistic, nuanced, incapable of being quantified or ranked – literally thousands of designers have made meaningful contributions to the discipline over the past half century – surveys tend to be popularity contests and to favor more recent personalities and projects – and the growing democratization of design is making the “star” system increasingly outdated.
Knowing all this, we still believe you’ll find the lists that follow fun, informative, thought-provoking, and a snapshot of what people are thinking at this moment.
Coming issues of GDUSA will focus on your favorite identity programs, packages, magazine and album covers, typographic designs and type designers, websites and apps, annual and corporate reports, and other design projects; the revolution in tools and technologies; the clash and complement of print and online media; design education and career issues; the changing role of inhouse design; and what the next 50 years of graphic design may look like.
We look forward to your reactions, and we’ll leave plenty of space for raves and, more likely, rants.”
Gordon Kaye, editor
