It’s been thirteen years since I left university with a BA Hons in graphic design—finishing somewhere forgettably in the middle—and moved to London to get after it. For no other reason but nostalgia, here's thirteen quotes from the thirteen graphic designers who turned my world upside down and changed the game forever.

Perhaps they did the same to you too.

David Carson

“Don’t confuse legibility with communication.”

I first opened David Carson’s book 2nd Sight aged 16. It was a gut punch of chaos and grunge. My earliest sketchbook parodied many of his spreads. 

The notorious Ray Gun story, where Carson set what he considered a dull interview with Bryan Ferry entirely in Dingbats, captures the essence of this quote and Carson’s no rules ethos.

April Grieman

“I like to step into areas where I am afraid. Fear is a sign that I am going in the right direction.”

Like most students at art school, I went through a CMYK phase. Experimenting with Grieman inspired layouts, colours, grids and irregular shapes of text for the first time was scary, but exhilarating.

Paul Rand

“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand”

The economy of shapes and semiotic language of Rand is still rooted in how I work today. The eye in Rand's iconographic version of the IBM logo was my first successful copycat icon. (The bee was too difficult). 

Neville Brody

“Typography is a hidden tool of manipulation within society”

Enter the punk phase: Big, bold, loud, negative, tight, fast paced and opinionated, and that was just Brody himself. 

I’d barely grasped the rules and now wanted to break them. I tried to emulate the spirit of Brody for a long time. I succeeded in making a lot of mess.

FF Blur is the only typeface where I think of the designer first and the letterforms second—now that’s manipulation.

Vaughn Oliver

“If print was invented tomorrow, it would be the death of digital.”

Vaughn Oliver’s work revealed how the power of layers, composition and mixed media can evoke both an abstract and specific feeling. The best way to describe it is with the title of his book: Visceral Pleasures.

Alan Fletcher

“If your mind is too open, people can throw all kinds of rubbish into it.”

I spent a month learning to write with my right hand, so I could drag and not dig the nib of my ink pen in an attempt to write like Fletcher. It was short lived.

Fletcher helped me grasp the wit of an ‘idea’ within design. Or the kind of wit I liked. ‘Mind over matter’ and ‘BEWARE WET PAINT’ still make me smile in my mind.

Saul Bass

“I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares, as opposed to ugly things. That’s my intent.”

You don’t learn about poster design without learning about Saul Bass. The best part of discovering an idol is when you realise you were imitating them before you knew who they were. My deep appreciation for yellow and red is rooted in Bass. 

Erik Spiekermann 

“The materials shape your idea.”

You can’t learn about typography without going through an FF Meta and ITC Officina phase. Spiekermann dragged me kicking and screaming into functional typography. Thank goodness.

Stefan Sagmeister  

“Work your ass off. Don't be an asshole.”

Sagmeister was my first experience of a designer putting themselves in the work, viscerally and literally. ‘Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far’ and specifically the intricate lettering for ‘Trying To Look Good Ruins My Life’ was a lesson in craft, competence and visual storytelling. 

There was a period of time (longer than I care to admit) where I regularly tuned into the live stream of the studio on his website. I think I wanted a job.

Susan Kare

“In design there’s no right answer, there’s a range”

To distil an idea down to a handful of pixels and still manage to inject warmth and charm is a world-class skill. To be the first of its kind is a global inspiration. Kare is baked into pixels. Kare's work was, and is, a lesson in constraints and restraint.

Gilbert & George

“We try not to have ideas, preferring accidents. To create, you must empty yourself of every artistic thought.”

Two finely dressed windows into a world of wonder and absurdity. 

When I first saw the work of G&G up close it was the first time I understood the power of image making and the blurred lines between art, design, protest and propaganda. What a trip. 

Milton Glaser

“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.”

Whenever I need an excuse to sit in a room and experiment with colour, form, and shape, I think about Glaser.

The versatility of Glaser’s style and ability taught me that there are many more ways to think, than staying locked inside a style we tell ourselves is ours. 

Paula Scher

“Words have meaning type has spirit.”

I’d bet an Akzidenz Grotesk amount of money that the work Scher has produced for The Public Theatre over the years can be found on every mood board for the ‘expressive type route’ in every design studio in the world. 

If I had to reduce Paula Scher’s style into one word, it would be ‘permissionless’. 

Bring on the next 13 years. Thanks for reading.

Connect Tristan Dunbar Follow Tristan Idea on X @tristanidea