Famous Graphic Designers from the United States

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Updated February 11, 2020185 items

List of notable or famous graphic designers from the United States, with bios and photos, including the top graphic designers born in the United States and even some popular graphic designers who immigrated to the United States. If you're trying to find out the names of famous American graphic designers then this list is the perfect resource for you. These graphic designers are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known graphic designer from the United States is included when available.

This list below has a variety of people, like John Mayer and Phil Hartman, in it.

This historic graphic designers from the United States list can help answer the questions "Who are some American graphic designers of note?" and "Who are the most famous graphic designers from the United States?" These prominent graphic designers of the United States may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected American graphic designers.

Use this list of renowned American graphic designers to discover some new graphic designers that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. {#nodes}
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  • John Mayer

    John Mayer

    Age: 45
    • Birthplace: USA, Connecticut, Bridgeport
    John Clayton Mayer (; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but disenrolled and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with Clay Cook. Together, they formed a short-lived two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play local clubs, refining his skills and gaining a following. After his appearance at the 2001 South by Southwest Festival, he was signed to Aware Records, and then Columbia Records, which released his first EP, Inside Wants Out. His following two full-length albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland". By 2005, Mayer had moved away from the acoustic music that characterized his early records, and begun performing the blues and rock music that had originally influenced him as a musician. He collaborated with blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton. Forming the John Mayer Trio, he released a live album in 2005 called Try!, and his third studio album Continuum in 2006. Both albums received critical acclaim, and Continuum earned Mayer a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". That album was followed by Battle Studies in 2009, a return to pop, with a Battle Studies World Tour. After having several controversial incidents with the media, Mayer withdrew from public life in 2010 and began work on his fifth studio album, Born and Raised, which drew inspiration from the 1970s pop music of Laurel Canyon. However, the discovery of a granuloma on his vocal cords delayed the release of the album until May 2012, and forced him to cancel the planned tour. The album received a generally favorable reception, though was less commercially successful than his previous work. Mayer began performing as a singer again in January 2013, and that year released his sixth studio album, Paradise Valley, which incorporates country music influences. By 2014, he had sold a total of over 20 million albums worldwide. His latest album, The Search for Everything, was released in 2017. After developing an interest in the Grateful Dead and connecting with Bob Weir, Mayer formed Dead & Company in 2015 with three former Grateful Dead musicians. It is the latest of several reunions of the band's surviving members since Jerry Garcia's death in 1995. The band remains active and its tours have been well-received, with its next shows scheduled for January of 2020.Mayer's secondary career pursuits extend to television hosting, comedy, and writing; he has authored columns for magazines such as Esquire. He supports various causes and has performed at charity benefits. He is a watch aficionado (with a collection he values in the "tens of millions" of dollars), contributing to the watch site Hodinkee, and has been on the jury at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
  • Phil Hartman

    Phil Hartman

    Dec. at 49 (1948-1998)
    • Birthplace: Brantford, Ontario, Canada
    Philip Edward Hartmann (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States in 1958. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. Hartman joined the comedy group the Groundlings in 1975 and there helped comedian Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens's show Pee-wee's Playhouse. In 1986, Hartman joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and stayed on the show for eight seasons. Nicknamed the "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He voiced various roles on The Simpsons, most notably Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure. He also had roles in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, Small Soldiers, and the English dub of Kiki's Delivery Service. Hartman divorced twice before he married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. Their marriage was troubled by Brynn's drug use and Hartman's emotional distance, which was a factor in his previous marriages ending. On May 28, 1998, Brynn shot and killed Hartman while he slept in their Encino, Los Angeles home, then committed suicide. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly opined that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper ... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with." He was posthumously inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2012 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014.
  • iJustine

    iJustine

    Age: 39
    • Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
    Justine Ezarik ( ee-ZAIR-ik; born March 20, 1984) is an American YouTube personality, host, actress, and model. She is best known as iJustine, with over a billion views across her YouTube channels since 2006. She gained attention as a lifecaster who communicated directly with her millions of viewers on her Justin.tv channel, ijustine.tv. She acquired notability in roles variously described as a "lifecasting star", a "new media star", or one of the Web's most popular lifecasters. She currently posts videos on her main channel iJustine.Ezarik became known for her "300-page iPhone bill", which followed the first month of service after the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007. The viral video of her review earned her international attention. She has ranked among the top 1000 Twitter users in the world with over 1.9 million followers. Ezarik has starred on the YouTube comedy series The Annoying Orange, as Orange's love interest Passion Fruit. In 2016, she was an advisor to Arnold Schwarzenegger on the reality competition series The New Celebrity Apprentice. Her television acting credits include guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Vampire Diaries. Ezarik also appeared as a main character on the first and fourth season of the YouTube Premium murder-mystery reality series Escape the Night.
  • Shepard Fairey

    Shepard Fairey

    Age: 53
    • Birthplace: USA, South Carolina, Charleston
    Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator, and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campaign while attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).He became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election for his Barack Obama "Hope" poster. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston has described him as one of the best known and most influential street artists. His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
  • Mike Shinoda
    • Birthplace: Agoura Hills, USA, California
    Michael Kenji Shinoda (, born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and graphic designer. He co-founded Linkin Park in 1996 and is the band's rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter, keyboardist, producer, and co-lead vocalist. Shinoda later created a hip-hop-driven side project, Fort Minor, in 2004. He has also served as a producer for tracks and albums by Lupe Fiasco, Styles of Beyond and the X-Ecutioners. Born in Panorama City, California and raised in Agoura Hills, Shinoda formed Xero, which later became Linkin Park, with two of his high school friends: Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon in 1996, later joined by Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell and Mark Wakefield. Chester Bennington replaced Wakefield as the lead vocalist. The band later signed a record deal with Warner Bros Records. Shinoda is also the co-founder of Machine Shop Records, a California-based record label. Outside of music, Shinoda is an artist and graphic designer. He has painted several pieces of artwork, some of which have been featured in the Japanese American National Museum. On January 25, 2018, Shinoda released the Post Traumatic EP, which contained three songs about his own feelings at the aftermath of Chester Bennington's death on July 20, 2017. In March 2018, Shinoda announced through social media that he was working on a new solo album under the same name; the record was released on June 15, 2018.
  • Peter Max

    Peter Max

    Age: 85
    • Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
    Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-American artist known for using bright colours in his work. Works by Max are associated with the visual arts and culture of the 1960s, particularly psychedelic art and pop art.