Paula Scher was born on 6 October 1948 in Washington, DC, where she was raised. She undertook her studies at the Tyler School of Art, Elkins, Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1970. It was during this period that she met Seymour Chwast, with whom she was in a tempestuous relationship that resulted in two marriages and two divorces.
She was awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts Honoris Causa from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. in 2001; a further Doctor of Fine Arts was awarded to her by the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore in 2008, and a third Doctor of Fine Arts was awarded to her by Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia in 2011. Subsequently, Paula Scher relocated to New York City, where she commenced her professional career as a layout artist for the Random House children’s book division.
In 1972, she was accepted into the advertising and promotions department of CBS Records. During her eight-year tenure at CBS Records, Scher is credited with designing as many as 150 album covers annually. Notable album cover designs include those for Boston, Eric Gale, Leonard Bernstein, and Poulenc, Stravinsky, among others.
In 1984, she left CBS to pursue independent work, co-founding Koppel & Scher with Terry Koppel, an editorial designer and fellow graduate of Tyler. During the six-year tenure of the business, Scher produced a range of design work, including identities, packaging, book jackets, and advertising. This latter category included the famous Swatch poster, which was based on the earlier work of Swiss designer Herbert Matter.
In the wake of the 1991 recession, Koppel assumed a role at Esquire magazine, while Scher commenced a consultancy position and joined Pentagram as a partner in the New York office. Subsequently, she has served as a principal at the New York office of the Pentagram design consultancy.
In 1992, she assumed the role of design educator, teaching at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. She has been the recipient of in excess of 300 awards bestowed by international design associations, in addition to a plethora of prizes from the American Institute of Graphic Design (AIGA), The Type Directors Club (NY), New York Art Directors Club and the Package Design Council.
From 1993 to 2005, Scher collaborated with George C. Wolfe, the producer of The Public, and Oskar Eustis, who was appointed artistic director during the fiftieth anniversary in 2005. Together, they developed a range of promotional materials, including posters, advertisements, and distinctive identities. In 2001, Scher created an interior design for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She was the first designer to create a new identity and promotional graphics system for the public theater. This program marked a turning point in the evolution of theater design, influencing the visual identity of numerous cultural institutions.
In 1994, Scher created the inaugural poster campaign for the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, featuring productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor and Two Gentlemen of Verona. These posters drew inspiration from the tradition of traditional English theatre style. The Shakespeare in the Park campaign, created by Scher, became a seasonal tradition in the city. The identity has undergone a series of evolutions over time, including the redesign of the Public Theater logo in 2005 and 2008.
In 2006, an exhibition at the Maya Stendhal gallery in New York City saw Paula Scher create two 9-by-12-foot maps that, when viewed from a distance, resembled patchwork quilts. However, upon closer inspection, they were revealed to contain a wealth of textual detail. She delineated lines that symbolized the separation of political allies or the demarcation of borders that separated enemies. Scher constructed the maps as composite layers that evoke a range of associations, from the collective imaginaries of Japan and Kenya to the socio-cultural topography of the Upper East Side. This was Scher’s inaugural solo exhibition as a fine artist, with each piece selling for a price between $40,000 and $135,000. The proprietor of the Maya Stendhal gallery elected to extend the exhibition by four weeks, until 21 January.
In 2007, Scher created screen prints of NYC Transit and Manhattan, which were printed on handmade deluxe Lana Quarrelle paper. The NYC Transit map depicts Manhattan as a densely populated island, traversed by a complex network of looping, colour-coded subway lines and stations. Furthermore, the map depicts the nocturnal aspect of Manhattan, showcasing the city’s renowned districts.
She continues to receive considerable recognition for her extensive and varied body of work, which has established her as a formidable presence in an industry that remains predominantly male-dominated.
