26 Aug 2023

Graphic designer Paula Scher: painting with words

From Saturday Morning, 10:05 am on 26 August 2023

Paula Scher Photo: supplied

New York-based Paula Scher is one of the world's most influential graphic designers.

A partner at Pentagram design studio since 1991, she began her career as an art director in the 1970s and 80s, when she earned a reputation for her eclectic approach to typography.

For over four decades, she has developed the visual language of iconic brands and institutions such as Citibank, Microsoft, the Museum of Modern Art, Tiffany & Co, Public Theater, the Metropolitan Opera, and the High Line.

Scher is coming to Auckland next month for the AGI Open, a two-day design festival hosted by the Alliance Graphique Internationale.

Hand-painted map of Philadelphia at Tyler School of Art. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

2008 US presidential election poster. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

Identity for free Shakespeare performances in Central Park (PHOTO: Pentagram)

New Jersey Performing Arts Center. A donated building with a low budget to turn it into something lively and creative. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

A revised logo and updated “Tiffany blue” for the heritage brand. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

Brand identity designed when Citicorp and Travelers Group merged to create Citigroup (1998). (PHOTO: Pentagram)

Identity and wayfinding for the Highline, Manhattan. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

Identity for The Metropolitan Opera, circa 2006. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

New York City Ballet - new identity and graphics, circa 2008. (PHOTO: Pentagram)

Paula Scher, Type is Image, Die Neue Sammlung. (PHOTO: Anna Seibel)

Paula Scher, Type is Image, Die Neue Sammlung (PHOTO: Anna Seibel)