Tibor Kalman

TIBOR KALMAN July 6, 1949 – May 2, 1999

In the mid-1980s two names changed the face of graphic design: Macintosh and Tibor. The Macintosh needs no introduction. Nor, with various books and articles by and about him, does the latter. Kalman was born in Budapest, Hungary where he lived for seven years until Soviet invasion forced his family to flee to the United States in 1956. They became American citizens and took up residency in Poughkeepsie, New York. After years of difficult adjustment to his new home, Tibor enrolled in NYU where he took journalism classes for a year before dropping out and seeking work at a small bookstore that eventually became Barnes & Noble. He later became the supervisor of their in-house design department. In 1979, Kalman, Carol Bokuniewicz, and Liz Trovato started the design firm M&Co., named after his wife and the firm’s co-creator, Maria. M&Co. developed an incredibly diverse client base; ranging from banks to department stores and attracted numerous high-profile clients such as Restaurant Florent and Talking Heads.

M&Co. quickly developed a reputation as “groundbreaking innovator in the design world- with a fantastic body of work that wonderfully blends humor, wit and social satire- built steadily, thanks to their unique style cleverly shifting between deadpan and expressive.”1

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Kalman was approached by the Benetton-sponsored magazine, Colors, in 1990 for a position as editor-in-chief. The United Colors of Benetton began as a product-based series of multi-cultural kids promoting ethnic and racial harmony, then evolved into a captionless assemblage of journalistic photographs and political statements. Shortly after accepting the job, he closed M&Co. and moved to Rome to work exclusively on the magazine.

Colors quickly became the primary outlet for Tibor’s most progressive ideas and political activism. Tibor described the publication as: “independent, multivoiced, wicked, political, spiritual, sexual, achingly prosaic, and above all, serious. Plus funny. Which was exactly the point: to address the needs of the world – all parts of the globe – and wrap it up in one big blanket called Humanity.”2 Kalman used a carefully planned arrangement of controversial images to force the public to face pressing political issues around the world.

He wanted his messages to be understood universally, with or without text, and therefore all issues of Colors were focused around clear imagery and any text was always published in a multitude of languages.

The figures on the opposite page display cover images of the magazine from 1991 (to the far left) and 1994 (middle and right images).

These three issues focused on the topics of birth, ecology, and AIDS (left to right). Kalman’s decision to use these scandalous images and vibrant colors unquestionably illustrate his intent to grab the attention of any citizen of any country no matter what the ir background, social status, race, etc. The images to the right are spreads from the AIDS issue from 1994 and also demonstrate Tobor’s passion for doing whatever it takes to make a statement.

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“No matter what your cultural sophistication or what language you speak, everyone can understand images.�

Tibor Kalman

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“What the hell is this magazine? Colors is a magazine about the rest of the world. What does that mean? In theory, it means that we’re as concerned with your culture as we are with ours.

But because this magazine is produced by people from about 30 different countries, published in five bilingual editions, and distributed globally, we’re not sure anymore which culture is ours.”

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Despite his reputation for being an incredibly tough leader, Tibor Kalman gained the respect and attention of people all around the world and was one of the few graphic designers whose accomplishments were legend within the field and widely known outside as well.3 His use of imagery was unique and effective. No other designer in history had ever taken on the risks or cultural hurdles that Kalman was able to master through his work with Colors and independently at M&Co. He was not afraid to take risks and saw graphic design as a medium for telling the truth; a quality very few designers can take credit for.

In 1997, cancer forced Tibor to return to New York City, where he re-established M&Co. and continued his mission to take a proactive approach to design. Even through his painfully exhausting radiation and chemotherapy, he was able to overlook the physical setbacks and take on any meaningful projects that he believed would have a lasting impact. He taught a weekly class about pictoral narrative at the School of Visual Arts until a week before he died. Tibor Kalman passed away on May 2, 1999 after a long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

To this day he is recognized for his impressive and groundbreaking work not only as a graphic designer, but as a political activist and enthusiast.

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Notes:

1.“Great Names in Graphic Design: Tibor Kalman.” Great Names in Graphic Design: Tibor Kalman.

July 25, 2013. Accessed April 4, 2015. http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/great-namesgraphic-design-tibor-kalman-7133661.

2.Kalman, Tibor. Colors: Tibor Kalman, Issues 1-13. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002.

3.Heller, Steven. “Tibor Kalman.” AIGA. January 1, 1999. Accessed April 3, 2015. http://www.aiga. org/medalist-tiborkalman/.

Bibliography: Heller, Steven. “Tibor Kalman.” AIGA. January 1, 1999. Accessed April 3, 2015. http://www.aiga. org/medalist-tiborkalman/.

Kalman, Tibor. Colors: Tibor Kalman, Issues 1-13. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002.

Kalman, Tibor, and Peter Hall. Tibor Kalman, Perverse Optimist. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000.

Images: Page 2-3: Colors 7 (AIDS) 1994 Page 4: Colors 1 (Its a Baby!) 1991, Colors 6 “Ecology 1994, Colors 7 (AIDS) 1994 Page 5: Colors 7 (AIDS) 1994 Page 6: Colors 4 (Race) 1993 Page 8: Sketches from Tibor Kalman’s notebook, planning the design of Colors 4 (Race) 1993 Page 9: Colors 4 (Race) 1993 Page 11: Colors 4 (Race) 1993 Page 12: Colors 4 (Race) 1993 Page 13: Image from “Preverse Optimist”, 2000

Designed and written by Taylor McElhinny Composed in Futura Condensed Medium, designed by Paul Renner Copyright © 2015 Taylor McElhinny, Portland, Maine, Maine College of Art