Mirko Ilić facts for kids

Mirko Ilić (born 1 January 1956) is a talented comics artist and graphic designer. He was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and now lives in New York City. He is famous for his amazing designs, from album covers to movie titles and posters.

Early Life and Art in Yugoslavia

Mirko Ilić grew up in Zagreb, Croatia. He went to the School of Applied Arts there. He started publishing his artwork, like comics and illustrations, in magazines when he was just 17 years old in 1973.

Becoming an Editor and Forming a Group

In 1976, Mirko became the art and comics editor for a student magazine called Polet. He also helped start a group of comic artists called Novi kvadrat (which means The New Square). This group was linked to the exciting New Wave music scene in Zagreb.

Designing for Music and Movies

Mirko Ilić designed many album covers for popular bands in Yugoslavia. Some of these bands included Bijelo dugme, Prljavo kazalište, Parni Valjak, Azra, and Film. His cover for Prljavo kazalište's first album became a very famous symbol for punk rock music in that region. He even wrote lyrics for a song! Mirko also designed posters for theaters and movies. One of his most famous movie posters was for the classic film Ko To Tamo Peva.

Working Around the World

In 1977, Mirko Ilić started sharing his art in big comic magazines outside Yugoslavia. These included Alter Alter, Métal Hurlant, Heavy Metal, and Marvel's Epic Illustrated. By 1980, he stopped working on comics and focused more on illustrations and graphic design. He even worked for an Italian magazine called Panorama starting in 1982.

Life and Work in America

In March 1986, Mirko Ilić moved to New York. He began publishing his illustrations in major newspapers and magazines. These included Time, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Becoming an Art Director

Mirko became an art director for Time International in 1991. The next year, he became the art director for the opinion pages (called op-ed) at The New York Times. This meant he was in charge of how the art and illustrations looked in these important publications.

Starting His Own Company

In 1995, Mirko Ilić started his own company called Mirko Ilić Corp.. His company specialized in graphic design, 3-D computer graphics, and designing title sequences for movies. For example, in 1998, he helped create the cool opening titles for the romantic comedy You've Got Mail.

Designing for Hotels and Restaurants

Mirko Ilić Corp. also started designing the visual look for fancy hotels and restaurants. This includes everything from their logos to their menus and overall style. Some of his clients include The Time Hotel in New York City and The Joule Hotel in Dallas.

Teaching and Inspiring Others

From 1999 to 2022, Mirko Ilić was a professor at the School of Visual Arts. He taught students in their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program for illustration. In 2023, he received an honorary professor title from MOME, a university in Hungary.

Recognized for His Art

Mirko Ilić's amazing artwork is displayed in many famous museums. In 2015, 38 of his pieces were added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. This included posters, album designs from his time in Yugoslavia, and his designs for The New York Times. His work is also in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The Tolerance Poster Show

Since 2017, Mirko Ilić has been the creator and organizer of the Tolerance Traveling Poster Show. This is an international exhibition where top designers from all over the world create posters about the important topic of tolerance. The show has been displayed over 177 times in 47 different countries! In 2019, he started the Tolerance Project Inc., which is a non-profit organization.

Books About Design

Mirko Ilić has also co-written several important books about graphic design. He wrote some with Steve Heller, like Genius Moves: 100 Icons of Graphic Design and Presenting Shakespeare: 1,100 Posters from Around the World. He also co-authored books with Milton Glaser, including Design of Dissent. These books share his knowledge and ideas about design with others.

See also

• Yugoslav rock
• New wave music in Yugoslavia
• Punk rock in Yugoslavia