Ivan Chermayeff (British, b. 1932)

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 the very first to develop an abstract trademark (Chase Bank, 1960), still in use today. In 1964, they designed the outstanding corporate identity of Mobil Oil, which is one of the most recognisable identities ever.

Ivan Chermayeff Collages 1982-1995, (exhibition catalogue), Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, D.C., 1995 [AIGA Design Archives]

From its inception, the studio served major companies including Armani, Barneys, Hearst, MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), National Geographic, NBC (National Broadcasting Company), PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Rockefeller, and others. Recently, Serge Haviv joined as a new partner, and the firm changed to Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.

Besides his design profession, Chermayeff is a talented illustrator, artist and collagist. Many of the graphic pieces he created feature a perfect balance of rational logic and imagination, featuring both abstract geometric shapes and figurative images.

Board overseers at Parsons School of Design and trustee at New School University from 1988 to 2002. Visiting professor at Cooper Union, University of California, and Kansas City Art Institute.

President of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) from 1963 to 1966. Trustee of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) from 1965 to 1986. Member of the board of directors of IDCA (International Design Conference in Aspen) from 1968 to 1999. Board Director at Municipal Art Society of New York from 1972 to 76. Member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) since 1978. Board Director at the Smithsonian Institution from 1988 to 1996. He was elected to the Hall of Fame of ADC New York (Art Directors Club) in 1982. Trustee of the Archives of American Art in 1987-90. Royal Designer for Industry since 1992. 

IDEA magazine, Special Issue 'Chermayeff & Geismar', 1981 [SPREAD]

Ivan Chermayeff

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Geometric Abstract Collage Flat Color "Old Lady with Spring Hat ", 1998

He was awarded numerous prizes including the Industrial Art Medal from AIA (American Institute of Architects) in 1967, the Philadelphia College of Art Gold Medal in 1971, AIGA Gold Medal (American Institute of Graphic Arts) in 1979, the President’s Fellow Award from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1981, the First International Design Award from Japan Design Foundation in 1983, the Yale Arts Medal in 1985, the Distinguished Service Award from New School University in 1999, the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal in 2002, the Tokyo Type Directors Club Award in 2004, and the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2014.

He also received an honorary doctorate in law from the Portland School of Art in 1981, and two honorary doctorates in fine arts from the Philadelphia University of Arts and the Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, in 1991.

Chermayeff and Geismar published many articles and books, including the experimental “Watching Words Move” (Typographica, 1962), “TM” (Lars Müller Publishers, 2000), “Designing” (Graphis, 2003), and “Identify” (Print Publishing, 2011).

Ivan Chermayeff

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African with Brian's Note, 1990