Malcolm Grear (June 12, 1931 – January 24, 2016) was an American

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

whose work encompassed visual identity programs, print publications, environmental design, packaging, and website design. He is best known for his visual identity work and designed logos for the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

, the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

, the

Presbyterian Church USA The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its theological roots lie primarily in the Scottish Reformat ...

, and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. He was the CEO of Malcolm Grear Designers, a design studio in Providence,

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

Early life and education

Grear was born in Mill Springs,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

on June 12, 1931, to Carl and Elizabeth (Canada) Grear. After high school Grear joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, where he trained as an aviation

metalsmith A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest list of metalworking occupations, metalworking o ...

, a skill that would subsequently gain him entry to the

Art Academy of Cincinnati The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, and was a department of the University of Cincinnati, and later in 1887, became the Art Academy ...

. There, Grear attended several art and design courses.

Career

Grear started his teaching career at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, before moving on to the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

’s graphic design faculty from 1960 to 1998, serving as its chairman from 1965 through 1969. He has earned an international reputation as a leader in the field of design education and has received five honorary doctorates. His teaching style emphasized rigor within design thinking framework. Grear established Malcolm Grear Designers (MGD) in 1960 and built the studio into a highly respected firm known for its clean lines and clarity of vision. Grear has done memorable visual identity programs for a wide range of clients, including Sonesta International Hotels,

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

Colby College Museum of Art The Colby College Museum of Art is an art museum on the campus of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1959 and now comprising five wings, nearly 8,000 works and more than 38,000 square feet of exhibition space, the Colby College Museu ...

, Visual Magnetics, and

New Bedford Whaling Museum The New Bedford Whaling Museum is a museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States that focuses on the history, science, art, and culture of the international whaling industry, and the colonial region of Old Dartmouth (now the city of New B ...

. MGD has produced award-winning print design work for

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

Library, the Guggenheim Museum, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, The RISD Museum, The

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and the Hallmark Photographic Collection. In the realm of environmental graphics, the studio has designed communication and sign systems for

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

Boston Museum of Fine Arts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, King Khalid City and the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

, along with exhibitions for numerous museums, including

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

's 150th Anniversary exhibition. His design of the Presbyterian Church USA's logo marked the organization's shift to unify and support for abortion rights. In 1996, MGD was selected to design the "Look of the Games" for the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The studio was also chosen to design the 31 sports

pictograms A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

, the

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...

, safety lantern, traveling cauldron, the

Olympic medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid ou ...

, and a commemorative poster. Grear, who believes his small studio was chosen "because of our record—because we respect tradition and avoid novelty," commented at the time: "It doesn't get much better than this. This has got to be one of the highest honors for a design firm."

Death and legacy

He died on January 24, 2016, in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, Rhode Island. The Malcolm Grear Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 2012 at RISD.

Books

* *

Exhibitions

* Inside/Outside: Design and Process, Malcolm Grear Designers,

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Rhode Island, United States, with much of the land in Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, and other parts in North Providence, Rhode Island, North Providence. The college was established in 18 ...

, 2008 * Graphic Content: Contemporary and Modern / Art and Design, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, 2007 * Malcolm Grear: The Art of Design (studio retrospective exhibit), 1996–present
Traveled to:

, Art Institute of Boston, Newport Art Museum,

Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ...

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

, Hunter Museum of American Art, RISD Museum, Myers School of Art,

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

, Quebec City, Canada,

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was founde ...

Awards

* Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Inductee, 2010Providence Journal, "8 Rhode Islanders to be inducted into Hall of Fame", April 29, 2010 * "Kentucky Star" by the Downtown Lexington Corporation, 2005 * "History Maker of Rhode Island", Rhode Island Historical Society, 2000 *

Claiborne Pell Claiborne de Borda Pell (November 22, 1918 – January 1, 2009) was an American politician and writer who served as a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island for six terms from 1961 to 1997. He was the sponsor of the 1972 bill that reformed the Basic ...

Award for Excellence in the Arts, 1998 * National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Citation for Distinguished Service in the Visual Arts, 1997 * John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1986 * Rhode Island Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, 1969

References

External links

Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Inductee Details: J. Malcolm Grear

RISD's Profiles: Faculty/Dean/Staff

Inspiration: Meet Malcolm Grear

* ttp://designarchives.aiga.org/#/entries/%2Bcredits%3A%22Malcolm%20Grear%20Designers%22/_/grid/relevance/asc/0/7 AIGA Design Archives: Malcolm Grear Designers
Malcolm Grear Designers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grear, Malcolm 1931 births American graphic designers 2016 deaths American chief executives