Creatives Mourn The Passing Of Logo Design Legend Ivan Chermayeff
By Mikelle Leow, 05 Dec 2017

Composite image by DesignTAXI. Background images via Wikimedia Commons
Iconic graphic designer Ivan Chermayeff, co-founder of the prolific Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv studio, passed away on 3 December 2017 due to complications with diabetes. He was 85 years old.
Chermayeff’s imprint on the creative industry is deep-seated. His clientele included big names like Pan Am, NBC, The Museum of Modern Art, and National Geographic.
“Styles come and go, design goes on forever: solving communication problems with new tools applied to the same old common sense,” the iconography legend once said.
His bereavement has visibly left the design world shaken, and creatives have taken to social media to pay their respects. Read some of their homages below.
The graphic design genius, Ivan Chermayeff, 85, has passed away. pic.twitter.com/S0cbBY1jEv
— RΛMIN NΛSIBOV (@RaminNasibov) December 4, 2017
This weekend we lost a gifted designer, illustrator, and artist. With a career spanning six decades, Ivan Chermayeff will live on in his legacy as a hugely influential and loved designer. pic.twitter.com/BF4ywao6AB
— AIGA Eye on Design (@AIGAeyeondesign) December 4, 2017
Today, we’re honoring the legacy of Ivan Chermayeff of @CGHNYC — he was not only a brilliant graphic designer, but an inspiring artist as well. He made collages from found material whenever he had a moment of pause, amassing hundreds of playful depictions of the world around him. pic.twitter.com/gpvXgnrH3E
— Standards Manual (@standardsmanual) December 4, 2017
Words of wisdom from the late design icon Ivan Chermayeff: “When someone presents you with a problem its important is to find out ‘if the problem you are presented is the real problem.’ Often, he believed ‘it is not.’”
— David Hartman (@meetdavid) December 3, 2017
Ivan Chermayeff was a designer who created the iconographic guidelines of our culture. Rest in peace. https://t.co/3FGYRXu2V3 pic.twitter.com/oEC5BlL243
— 🦌Sugarplum Edgar☃️ (@seanmedgar) December 4, 2017
“I do half my work in taxis, not in the office”- inspirational advice from the recently deceased logo legend Ivan Chermayeff https://t.co/z0eJXUMGdY @DesignMuseum @Chase @Mobil @exxonmobil @MuseumModernArt pic.twitter.com/cRCNkoQy4q
— Phaidon (@Phaidon) December 4, 2017
Rest in Peace Ivan Chermayeff. A great designer. A terrible loss. pic.twitter.com/nHUUWKDooP
— The Daily Heller (@thedailyheller) December 4, 2017
RIP Ivan Chermayeff, one of the greatest. This was one of his favorite posters and it encapsulates everything he did best. pic.twitter.com/WgECVdmTH3
— SVA/Glaser Archives (@GlaserArchives) December 4, 2017
Ivan Chermayeff's 1974 poster for the stage production of War and Peace is *chef's kiss*: pic.twitter.com/2V14uiPUId
— Simon Parkin (@SimonParkin) October 19, 2017
One of so many Chermayeff & Geismar works New Yorkers see every day: the 53rd St/Lex Av stop. RIP Ivan Chermayeff https://t.co/wKCPQb9zcm pic.twitter.com/Ejj3IlVjL6
— Alexandra Lange (@LangeAlexandra) December 3, 2017
Notes from the first design talk I ever attended. I had no idea what Ivan Chermayeff was talking about, but this list still holds up. #RIP pic.twitter.com/RD7jA1h6im
— David Betz (@DBetzCreative) December 5, 2017
Yesterday I lost a mentor, collaborator, and friend. His work, legacy, and ideals live on. Goodbye Ivan. https://t.co/QMszk1s2gb
— Mackey Saturday (@Saturday) December 3, 2017
[via Co.Design, cover image via Wikimedia Commons]