GRAPHIC DESIGN HISTORY 2009: Chris Nowlan - 27. “The difference between good design and great design is intelligence.” Tibor Kalman

Tibor Kalman

Tibor Kalman (July 6, 1949–May 2, 1999) was an influential American graphic designer of Hungarian origin, well known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine, and his groundbreaking work he created with his New York design firm, M&Co.

Kalman was born in Budapest and became a U.S. resident in 1956, after he and his family fled Hungary to escape the Soviet invasion. He attended NYU, but only after one year of Journalism classes he dropped out.

In 1979 Kalman,Carol Bokuniewicz, and Liz Trovato started the design firm M&Co, which did corporate work for such diverse clients as the Limited Corporation, the New Wave music group Talking Heads, and Restaurant Florent in New York City’s Meatpacking District. Kalman also worked as creative director of Interview magazine in the early 1990s.

Kalman became the founding editor-in-chief of the Benetton-sponsored Colors magazine in 1990. In 1993, Kalman closed M&Co and moved to Rome, to work exclusively on the magazine. He remained the main creative force behind Colors, until the onset of non-Hodgkins lymphoma forced him to leave in 1995, and return to New York.

In 1997, Kalman re-opened M&Co and continued to work until his death in 1999, in Puerto Rico.

Today, the influence of M&Co is still strong, both as a result of its work and that of the many designers, like Stefan Sagmeister, Stephen Doyle, Alexander Isley, and Emily Oberman, who worked there and went on to start their own design studios, also in New York City. Tibor Kálmán was a member of Alliance Graphique International (AGI). Until his death (1999), Mr. Kalman was married to the illustrator and author Maira Kalman.

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