Often described as ‘one of the most influential graphic designers in the world’ and ‘the most influential woman graphic designer’, Paula Scher is a master of her craft and has been for more than half a century. The Design Indaba alum and Pentagram partner’s groundbreaking work has been captured in Paula Scher: Works, a new monograph and definitive visual record.
Published by Thames & Hudson, the 522-page book presents the most extensive monograph of Scher’s career to date, featuring over 300 projects and 910 illustrations. Paula Scher: Works (2024) is a new edition of the monograph previously published by Unit Editions.
Coedited by Tony Brook and Adrian Shaughnessy, the book organises Scher’s work chronologically into several thematic sections. It opens with a long interview with the designer, then moves into her record covers from the 1970s and '80s. Central chapters look at her innovative approach to identity design and environmental graphics and its impact on contemporary New York’s urban fabric - as seen in work for clients such as MoMA, Charter Schools, the High Line, and Shake Shack - as well as her logos for global corporations and cultural institutions.
‘Ultimately, this is a book designed for you - the reader - to welcome you into the world of one of the most remarkable figures working in design today,’ writes Brook in the monograph. ‘She is inspiring to me in so many ways, and it’s my hope that having enjoyed the journey through this major monograph, she inspires you too.’
Scher began her career as an art director in the 1970s and early ‘80s, when her eclectic approach to typography became highly influential. Her graphic identities for Citibank and Tiffany & Co. have become case studies for the contemporary regeneration of American brands. Her work has been exhibited all over the world and is represented in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
A large section of the monograph is devoted to Scher’s socially- and politically-motivated posters, The New York Times op-ed illustrations, and campaign work. The book provides the most up-to-date look at Scher’s idiosyncratic hand-painted maps, a prolific artistic practice that complements her still-growing graphic legacy, as well as her collaboration with The Public Theater which spans more than 20 years.
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