When designer Tibor Kalman died
of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on May 2 in Puerto Rico, surrounded by his wife, Maira, and family, he died as he had lived and worked: on his own terms and with the generosity
of spirit and optimism that touched everyone who knew him.
Kalman was best known for the groundbreaking work he created with his
New York design firm, M&Co, and his brief yet influential editorship of
Colors magazine. Throughout his 30-year career, Kalman brought his restless
intellectual curiosity and subversive wit to everything he worked on — from
album covers for the Talking Heads to the redevelopment of Times Square. Kalman incorporated visual elements other designers had never associated
with successful design, and used his work to promote his radical politics. The
influence of his experiments in typography and images can be seen
everywhere, from music videos to the design of magazines such as Wired and
Ray Gun.