Paula Scher: Works

“Paula Scher is the most influential woman graphic designer on the planet.”
—Ellen Lupton, Abstract: The Art of Design

This definitive, chronological visual record spans Paula’s early days in the music industry as an art director with CBS and Atlantic records; the launch of her first studio, Koppel & Scher; and her 25-year engagement with Pentagram. The monograph is also a visual record of contemporary New York’s urban fabric, indelibly transformed by the designer’s innovative approach to environmental graphics and identity design: from MoMA to Charter Schools; from the High Line to Shake Shack. Scher's logos for global corporations and cultural institutions have cemented her reputation as a giant of identity design. A large section is devoted to the designer’s socially and politically-motivated posters, New York Times Op-Ed illustrations and campaign work. The book also provides the most up-to-date look at Paula’s idiosyncratic hand-painted maps, an unusually prolific artistic practice complementing her still-growing graphic legacy. In a long interview, Paula’s frank and open words lay bare the reality of design culture in the USA. With an introduction by Adrian Shaughnessy and an afterword by Tony Brook.

Designed by Rachel Dalton and Tommy Spitters, under the creative direction of Tony Brook

Published by Unit Editions, 2017

Softcover, 520 pages, four color lithographic printing, 8 × 10.15 inches

ISBN: 978-0-9956664-1-2