Mirko Ilić (born 1 January 1956) is a Bosnian-born

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

and graphic designer based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Yugoslavian period

Ilić was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His life, schooling and most of his Yugoslav-period-career was located at

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, Croatia. He graduated from the School of

Applied Arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univers ...

in Zagreb, published his first works in 1973, and has since been publishing comics and illustrations in magazines, such as '' Omladinski tjednik'', '' Modra Lasta'', ''Tina'', '' Pitanja'', and ''Start'' and has become the art and comics editor of the students' magazine '' Polet'' in 1976. That's when he organized an informal organization of the

comic book creator developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is un ...

s Novi kvadrat (''The New Square''), that has been widely connected to the Novi val musical movement in Zagreb. Ilić design album covers of some of the most prominent Yugoslav bands of the time, such as

Bijelo dugme Bijelo Dugme (trans. ''White Button'') was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav rock music, rock band, formed in Sarajevo, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1974. Bijelo Dugme is widely co ...

, Prljavo kazalište,

Parni Valjak Parni Valjak (; "steamroller") is a Croatian and former Yugoslav rock band. They were one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav rock scene, and one of the top rock bands in Croatia. Biography Parni Valjak was founded in 1975 in Zagreb. Unlike ...

Azra Azra was a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band that was one of the most popular acts of the Yugoslav new wave music of the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were ...

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and many others. He designed the cover for the first album of Prljavo kazalište, which became a widely recognizable and iconic symbol for Punk rock in ex-Yugoslavia. He even wrote lyrics for the song ''Čovjek za sutra''. Ilić appears in ''

Sretno dijete ''Sretno dijete'' (English: ''Happy child'') is a Croatian documentary film directed by Igor Mirković, and produced by Rajko Grlić, an Ohio University professor of film, in 2003. The film is a nostalgic autobiographical overview of the authors a ...

'', Igor Mirković's documentary about the '' Novi val'' ('' New wave'') movement in Zagreb, as one of the most prominent figures of the movement. He also designed covers for the Croatian political weekly magazine '' Danas'', as well as posters for theaters such as ''Teatar & TD'' and posters for movies. His most famous movie poster is for cult film ''

Ko To Tamo Peva ''Who's Singin' Over There?'' ( sh, Ko to tamo peva) is a 1980 Cinema of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav film written by Dušan Kovačević and directed by Slobodan Šijan. It is a dark comedy and features an ensemble cast. The film tells a story about a gro ...

''.

International career

In 1977, Ilić started publishing his works in the established comics magazines outside Yugoslavia, such as

Alter Alter Alter may refer to: * Alter (name), people named Alter * Alter (automobile) * Alter (crater), a lunar crater * Alter Channel, a Greek TV channel * Archbishop Alter High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio * ALTER, a command in ...

, Métal Hurlant, Heavy Metal and Marvel's

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Am ...

. In 1980, Novi kvadrat ceased to exist and Ilić entirely stopped working on the comics, and focused upon illustration and graphic design. In 1982, he started working for the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

magazine ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

''.

American period

In March 1986 he moved to New York. He started publishing his illustrations in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and many other prominent and influential newspapers and magazines. In 1991, he becomes an art director of ''Time International'', and the following year he became art director of the

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...

in ''The New York Times''. In 1995 he founded ''Mirko Ilić Corp.'', a graphic design and 3-D computer graphics and motion picture title studio. In 1998, he created the

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...

for the romantic comedy ''

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The Shop ...

'' with

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 1954 ...

and Walter Bernard. In 1999, ''Mirko Ilić Corp.'' began designing visual identities for luxury hotels and restaurants. Some of his hotel clients include
The Time Hotel
' in New York City, ''

The Joule Hotel The Joule Hotel is a five-star, 164-room hotel developed by Headington Hotels, owned by Timothy Headington. Located at 1530 Main Street, between Akard Street and Ervay Street, the building was constructed in 1927 as the Dallas National Bank Buildi ...

'' in Dallas, TX, Casa Moderna Hotel in Miami, FL, and

Alpina Gstaad The Alpina Gstaad is a luxury 56-room hotel in the Oberbort area of Gstaad, Switzerland. It is owned by Jean Claude Mimran and Marcel Bach. It was opened in 2012 and was the first luxury hotel to be built in Gstaad for a century. Background and ...

in Switzerland. Some restaurant clients include

Le Cirque Le Cirque is a French restaurant that has had several locations throughout the New York City borough of Manhattan for more than forty years. It is currently closed, with its future status unknown. New York City history Le Cirque was establishe ...

and '' La Fonda Del Sol'' in New York City, "Summit" and "Play" at ''

The Broadmoor The Broadmoor (stylized as THE BRODMOOR) is a hotel and resort in the Broadmoor neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Broadmoor is a member of Historic Hotels of America of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its visitors hav ...

Hotel'' in Colorado Springs,
Charlie Palmer
' in Dallas, TX, and "The Seafood Bar", "Echo", "Flagler Stakehouse", and "HMF" at

The Breakers (hotel) The Breakers Palm Beach is a historic, Renaissance Revival style luxury hotel with 538 rooms. It is located at 1 South County Road in Palm Beach, Florida. Early history First known as The Palm Beach Inn, the original hotel was opened on January ...

in Palm Beach Florida. Since 1999, Ilić has been a professor at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

for their MFA in Illustration program. In 2012, '' Print'' published his monograph by Dejan Kršić with preface by Milton Glaser and introduction by Steven Heller. In 2015, 38 pieces of his artwork were included in the collection of th
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
MoMA acquired artwork including posters, LP designs from his Yugoslavian period, and his designs of The New York Times OP-ED pages. In September 2015, four of his pieces were exhibited for the first time in MoMA's exhibitio
Making Music Modern
His work is also in collections of

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

, and many other institutions and museums. His original illustrations for the covers of Time Magazine, among other pieces are a part of th
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
in Washington D.C. Since 2017, Ilić is the creator and organizer of th
Tolerance Traveling Poster Show
an international exhibition that brings together leading designers from around the world to create posters on the topic of Tolerance. Past participating designers have included

Paula Scher Paula Scher (born October 6, 1948, Washington, D.C.) is an American graphic designer, painter and art educator in design. She also served as the first female principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991.Scher, Paula." (n.d.): Oxford University ...

Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture b ...

, David Hillman, and Gunter Rambow, among others. To date, the show was exhibited over 64 times in 27 different countries. In 2019 he established the Tolerance Project Inc., a non for profit organization.

Personal life

Books about graphic design

Ilić is a co-author of several notable books about graphic design. Co-authored with Steve Heller: * ''Genius Moves: 100 Icons of Graphic Design'' * ''Handwritten - expressive lettering in digital age'' * ''Anatomy of Design'' * ''Stop Think Go Do'' * ''Lettering Large: Art & Design of Monumental Typography'' * ''Presenting Shakespeare: 1,100 Posters from Around the World'' * ''Head To Toe: The Nude in Graphic Design'' Co-authored with Milton Glaser: * ''Design of Dissent'' * ''Design of Dissent - Expanded Edition''

References

External links

Mirko Ilić Corp. official site
* (contains a short biography of Mirko Ilić) *
Ex - yu hitovi Mirka Ilića
MTS Mondo, April 13, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilic, Mirko 1956 births Living people People from Bijeljina Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina American art directors People from New York (state) Yugoslav expatriates in the United States American people of Serbian descent