For those who have never heard the name before, you know him; you just don’t know it. You’ve seen his work, it’s totally pre-internet but it’s out there and it’s very very relevant.
A lot of it keeps coming back into pop culture today, but you can trace it back to one man.
Let’s begin with the most famous pieces and move to cooler things as we go. You know Benetton right? Well, they sponsored a magazine called COLORS. At the peak of his career, Tibor Kalman teamed up with controversial Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani to launch a magazine they billed ‘A magazine about the rest of the world.’ The magazine is still in production, in its current form it is produced by Fabrica, once again a Benetton venture to create communication. Remember this famous piece?
This was made by Fabrica in 2011 in partnership with 72 and Sunny, an LA based creative agency.
Here are some iconic pieces from Tibor Kalman and the company he founded, M&Co.
The black Queen Elizabeth for example.
Or black Arnie.
Or this paperweight for an architecture firm.
This Umbrella
And of course a bunch of Colors magazine and Interview covers.
Here’s a few pieces of branding content that wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t for Tibor Kalman, his legendary collaboration with Olivero Toscani, and the now famous alumni from M&Co – The likes of Stefan Sagmeister, Stephen Doyle, and Emily Oberman.
Benetton unhate campaign
Sagmeister / Frooti
Colors magazine
30 Rock
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
