Eulogy: Tibor Kalman

Tibor Kalman had no ambitions to be a graphic designer, but he became one of the best and most influential practitioners of that strange profession. He inspired many, myself included, and infuriated the rest. He was all over the place–he steered Interview and Colors magazines in radical new directions; he brought artists into Times Square redevelopment projects; he created books, watches, furniture, posters, signs and menus. I worked with him on a film, a video clip and a number of record and CD covers, and his enthusiasm, sense of invention and plain wicked fun was contagious. Tibor had no patience with design that merely made things elegant, pretty or beautiful; he always aspired to design that was equal to the content, that meant something, told us about the way we live and took responsibility for itself. He made things that woke us out of our slumber with a kiss or a raspberry. I’ll miss him.

–David Byrne, singer