Personality of the Year 2023

Paula Scher

Paula Scher has left a lasting mark on the design world with her unmistakable style. For over five decades, the graphic designer has been setting new standards - from iconic brand identities to legendary record covers. As the first woman in the partner role at Pentagram, she challenged and redefined design rules. The jury of the German Design Awards 2023 is honouring Paula Scher with the Personality of the Year award in recognition of her extraordinary life's work.

Paula Scher is one of the most renowned graphic designers in the world. Since 1991, she has headed the New York office of the renowned international design firm Pentagram, where she develops brand identities, signage, packaging and publications for a wide range of clients. With unabashed simplicity, her work makes unknown brands iconic and iconic brands epic. 

Her identity systems for organisations such as the Public Theater, the Museum of Modern Art, Shake Shack, Citibank, Microsoft, Tiffany & Co. and the High Line have become milestones in modern branding.

Paula Scher has received hundreds of awards, including the National Design Award, the D&AD Special President's Award and the AIGA Medal. Her designs are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the Library of Congress, the Victoria and Albert Museum and other institutions. A documentary about Scher and her work can be seen in the Netflix series ‘Abstract: The Art of Design’.

 
[Translate to English:] Paula Scher während der Preisverleihung 2023, live aus New York[Translate to English:] Manuel Debus
[Translate to English:] Manuel Debus

Jury Statement

Her portfolio spanning five decades could not be more impressive: Work for renowned museums and theatres, global brands such as Citibank, Coca-Cola, Microsoft - and the legendary record company CBS, for whom she designed countless album covers. There is hardly anyone who has not come across one of her designs.

Paula Scher is one of the most influential graphic designers of our time. Her work has not only been widely recognised around the world, but has also set new standards with her loud, typographic style and changed the design world for good.
She has been a partner in Pentagram's New York office since 1991 - the first woman to hold this position. From the very beginning, she questioned design rules, broke them down and redefined them. With her fresh, unmistakable aesthetic, she has characterised the visual appearance of an entire era.

For her extraordinary life's work, her visionary power and her tireless influence on graphic design, the jury of the German Design Award 2023 is honouring Paula Scher with the Personality of the Year Award.

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