Mundo Urbano

Ivan Chermayeff, Geisha in Amsterdam, (screenprint), 1990 [RoGallery, Long Island City, NY. © Ivan Chermayeff] Ivan Chermayeff is one of the best American graphic designers, the son of the Russian-born, British architect Serge Chermayeff. Graduated from the Phillips Academy of Andover, Massachusetts, in 1950. He studied at Harvard until 1952 and at the Institute of Design (New Bauhaus) until 1954. Graduated from the Yale School of Arts and Architecture in 1955 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The same year, he did a short apprenticeship with Alvin Lustig—a pioneer of American graphic design—and then moved on to CBS as Assistant Art Director in record cover design. In 1956, he co-founded Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar Associates with Robert Brownjohn and his former schoolmate Tom Geismar. In 1959, Brownjohn left, and the studio changed to Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. It soon became one of the best-known design firms worldwide. The firm produced over 600 marks, and they were among th...