Paula Scher:

A Profile

Paula Scher (b. 1948) is a graphic designer, painter, illustrator and art educator born and raised in Washington D.C. After achieving her BA from the Tyler School of Art in 1970, she moved to New York and began her first job in the city as a layout artist for book publishing company, Random House.

Two years later, Scher was working for CBS Records, which would be the beginnings of an eight year career as the cover department art director there. During this time, Scher designed hundreds of iconic album covers and received no less than four Grammy nominations for her work.

After some time away from CBS Records and an attempt to establish herself as an independent designer, Scher ended up at Pentagram; the world’s largest independent design consultancy, as their first ever female principal. After just one year, Scher was also had the role of art educator at the School of Visual Arts.

Since this time, Paula Scher has received hundreds of design awards, and has also earned a reputation for her large, colorful and creative map paintings. These artworks map an area according to unusual criteria such as climate, home prices and driving time.

In 1973, Scher married New York born graphic designer, illustrator, and type designer Seymour Chwast. The marriage only lasted five years, however more than 10 years later they rekindled their love and remarried. The couple are still together to this day.