Milton Glaser's Ten Rules for Life and Work: A Designer's Legacy of Wisdom

The late graphic designer Milton Glaser, renowned for creating the I ❤ NY logo, a psychedelic portrait of Bob Dylan, and DC Comics' bullet logo, shared his 'Ten Things I Have Learned' in a talk to the AIGA, a professional organization for designers. The list, which Glaser described as born from reflection on his long creative career, offers advice that transcends design, touching on work ethics, personal well-being, and philosophical outlook. Key rules include working only for people you like, never having a job if possible (quoting composer John Cage), avoiding toxic people, recognizing that professionalism alone is insufficient (advocating for 'continuous transgression' in the arts), challenging the modernist mantra 'less is more' with 'just enough is more,' distrusting style as linked to economic factors, understanding that how you live changes your brain (emphasizing drawing's role in attentiveness), valuing doubt over certainty, adopting the perspective that 'it doesn't matter' (inspired by Roger Rosenblatt's 'Rules for Aging'), and telling the truth, noting that the AIGA's code of ethics omits designers' responsibility to the public. The article, published on Open Culture, includes a bonus joke about a rabbit and cabbage, and references Glaser's broader body of work and his 2017 post. Glaser, a self-described 'child of modernism,' passed away in 2020, leaving behind a legacy of iconic designs and thoughtful guidance for creatives.