Raymond Loewy | Biography, Life, Work, Logos and Awards
Raymond Loewy (1893 – 1986)
Raymond Loewy, one of the greatest and most influential industrial and graphic designers of the twentieth century, was born in Paris on November 5, 1893. His father was a journalist while his mother was a housewife. He was a child prodigy and at age 15 he had designed a successful model aircraft which won the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1908. Loewy served in the French army during World War I and even received the Croix de guerre, a French military decoration.
He moved to to America in 1919 and started working as a window designer for department stores. Loewy became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1938 and spent most of his professional career in New York. Raymond Loewy was once described by Time magazine as the leader of the industrial design profession. He was featured on the magazine’s cover on its October 31, 1949 issue. His groundbreaking body of work, from creating the Studebaker to designing the packaging for Lucky Strikes and corporate logos for Shell, BP and Exxon, has had a profound effect on countless aspects of American life and influenced generations of designers in a wide range of disciplines.
Raymond Loewy died on July 15, 1986 in Monte Carlo, Monaco at the age of ninety-two. He has numerous awards and accolades, both national and international, to his credit and his work has been exhibited widely in various art galleries and museums throughout the world.
Raymond Loewy Elsewhere:
– Official website
– Raymond Loewy on Britannica
– Raymond Loewy: Industrial Designers Society of America
