"Ultimately, the typography took over."

Paula Scher. Image credit: Ian Roberts

“If you visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York, pop into a Citibank branch, use Microsoft Windows 8 or walk past Tiffany & Co., then you're looking at the work of Paula Scher.”

“A partner at Pentagram 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. Since then, she has worked with a whole host of clients – Bloomberg, Coca-Cola, the High Line – crafting identity and branding systems, promotional materials, environmental graphics, packaging and publication designs.”

Katy Cowan got a chance to sit her down and start at the beginning. “I was born in Washington, DC and went to school in Philadelphia, then moved to New York in 1970 with a portfolio and sixty dollars to look for a job. I would not advise anybody in the world to do that now [Laughs]. It would be impossible. But I did it. It was easy to get a job in those days because it was a wide-open profession.”

Article: Paula Scher On Falling in Love with Typography, Timeless Identities and What it Takes to Become a Great Designer