Seymour Chwast

Seymour Chwast by Chwast

“I’m doing my report on Seymour Chast” says Jackie. “It’s Chwast!”(pronounced: Quast) says Lindsey Baker to her class. “Oh yeah I like that guy Shwast – he’s a great illustrator!” says Matt. “It’s Chwast!” “It’s pronounced Quast!” says Baker. Everyone laughs – this went on for twenty minutes the other day in my Design team 1 class.

However you pronounce it Seymour Chwast is one of the most inspiring illustrators of political satire since the 1960’s and his work still resonates with younger designers and illustrators. Here is a screenshot of his website and a couple of covers of the publication called the Nose.

He was one of the original creators of Pushpin Studios along with Milton Glaser and a band of notable designers from NYC. They turned the world of graphic design on its ear with their innovative and eclectic styles. For more examples of their work just google the Pushpin Group or Pushpin Almanac and you will find a plethora of information and examples of the work.

I created a course called the Pushpin Graphic remix where my students work in creative teams and select one issue from the original Pushpin publication and then do their own take on the theme. I will be posting some of the work with their permission a the end of the quater but for now here are a few of the covers that Chwast did for a more recent publication called “the Nose” he uses the same format as the original Pushpin Graphic- take a look.