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26 May 2025 | Issue #94

In this issue:

• The Best Designer of All Time Is ...
• Why PR Is Becoming More Essential for AI Search Visibility
• The WWDC 2025 Logo Gives Me Hope for the Future of Apple Design
• Yet Another New Podcast Interview About The Visual Marketer
• Design Quote of the Week

The Best Designer of All Time Is ...

...Impossible to say. Sorry, I know that was a clickbait-y headline, but news from this past week got me thinking.

As we saw with Jony Ive’s new venture with OpenAI, for which the reported price tag is $6.5B, it’s hard not to consider him one of the most successful designers alive. Maybe ever.

So I asked my wife: Is Jony Ive the most successful designer of all time?

Which of course led to the debate of what defines "best," or what defines "design?"

Does "best" mean the most financially successful (this deal might put Ive at the top of that list). Does it mean the biggest impact on culture (Ive might also top that list based on the many Apple devices I see within arm reach).

And "design" means many things. I asked my buddy ChatGPT who the best designers were in different fields, and this is what it came back with:

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Product Design

Jony Ive – He’s probably the most commercially successful modern industrial designer. From the iMac to the iPhone, his work at Apple defined an entire era of product aesthetics. And now with his firm io and that OpenAI deal? He’s arguably the wealthiest designer ever.

Dieter Rams, the legendary Braun designer whose “less but better” mantra defined modernist product design. His ten principles of good design became a north star for generations, including Jony Ive—who echoed Rams’s clarity of form and function in nearly every Apple product.

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Graphic Design

Paula Scher – As a partner at Pentagram, she’s created iconic brand identities (like Citibank and Microsoft Windows). Her influence on typography and identity design is massive.

Milton Glaser – The “I ♥ NY” logo alone puts him in the hall of fame, but his impact on editorial and brand design was foundational.

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Fashion Design

Virgil Abloh – Bridged streetwear and high fashion, led Louis Vuitton’s menswear, and made Off-White a global brand. His cultural influence is still being felt.

Coco Chanel or Giorgio Armani could be considered the most enduring in terms of both brand and legacy.

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UX / Digital Design

Jonathan Lee – Former head of design at Google, leading Material Design. Huge influence on how Android and the web look and feel.

Julie Zhuo – Former VP of Product Design at Facebook. She helped shape the modern social media interface and has become a go-to voice on design leadership.

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Architecture

Zaha Hadid – Iconic, fluid forms that broke conventions. She won the Pritzker Prize and redefined the look of contemporary buildings.

Frank Gehry – His buildings (like the Guggenheim Bilbao and Walt Disney Concert Hall) became global cultural landmarks. He’s one of the few architects widely recognized outside of the industry.

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Type Design

Matthew Carter – Designed some of the most widely used typefaces ever (like Verdana and Georgia). His work is so omnipresent you probably read it every day.

Hermann Zapf, who bridged calligraphy and type design, creating enduring typefaces like Palatino, Optima, and Zapfino—each one a masterclass in elegance and legibility. His work quietly shaped everything from books to software interfaces.

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Game Design

Shigeru Miyamoto – Creator of Super Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong. If you define success by global joy and longevity, he’s untouchable.

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Motion / Title Design

Kyle Cooper – Reinvented the art of film titles with the Se7en intro and tons of others. His influence is all over modern motion design.

Saul Bass – Invented the art of film titles. Before him, film titles were just text on screen. Bass made them part of the narrative, setting the mood before a single scene unfolded. (Plus he was a successful brand designer who designed AT&T, United Airlines, Girl Scouts, and more).

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So, there's no easy way to define the "best" since we don't have a single definition for "design."

The big takeaway from the Ive/OpenAI deal is that OpenAI knows that to truly succeed, it needs impeccable design. Design is the reason I'm typing this on a Mac. It's the reason I've never used a case on my iPhone (this September will mark 18 years that I've used an iPhone without a case and I haven't dropped/damaged it). The device is too beautiful to conceal in a bloopy case.

Apple's stock dropped 2% right after the Ive/OpenAI deal was announced. It's possible OpenAI is going to create something that will replace the phone we all carry. It's hard to bet against Apple. But it's even harder to bet against the people who helped make Apple what is is.

OpenAI is one of the leaders in the AI space, but it could be a significant challenger in the device space. It will be fun to watch.

​ NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF DESIGN AND MARKETING

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👩🏻‍🏫 Why PR Is Becoming More Essential for AI Search Visibility

As AI-driven search platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity reshape how users discover information, traditional SEO tactics are no longer sufficient. Search Engine Land reports that public relations (PR) is now a pivotal strategy for enhancing brand visibility in AI-generated search results.

• Reputation as a Ranking Signal: AI search engines prioritize brand mentions, authority, and trustworthiness—areas where PR excels. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on keywords and backlinks, AI platforms assess a brand’s overall reputation across various sources.
• Beyond Traditional SEO: To remain visible in AI-generated summaries and answers, brands must invest in PR efforts that build credibility and authority, ensuring they are recognized and cited by AI systems.
• My Take: We've been talking about this for a few weeks. Traditional search is going away. PR is a great way to be found within LLMs.
• H/T Seth Goldstein​

​Keep reading​

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🍎 The WWDC 2025 Logo Gives Me Hope for the Future of Apple Design

Creative Bloq’s Daniel John sees the new WWDC logo as a sign that Apple might be reintroducing playfulness and personality into its design language.

• Hints at a Translucent UI: The logo’s glassy, layered ‘25’ design may point to see-through elements coming in iOS 19.
• A Return to Color: Vibrant gradients suggest Apple could be shifting away from monochrome minimalism and embracing visual expressiveness again.
• My Take: After a couple of decades of basic gray, it would be great if Apple returned to color. The original iMac in its bondi blue is what put Apple back on the map in the late '90s.

​Keep reading​

​ THE VISUAL MARKETER

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Helping marketers and business owners create more effective visuals. Read The Visual Marketer now!

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RECENT AND UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS

A couple of days ago, I was a guest on the Rocky Mountain Marketing podcast.

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Katie and I met a few years ago at the first Content Entrepreneur Expo. She is someone who understands the power of consistent visuals while building her brand.

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On June 6th, I'll be speaking at EvolveDrupal in Boston. I met with the organizers and a few of the other speakers last week, and it looks like a really good group.

If you're interested in attending this one-day conference, let me know and I can provide a discount code.

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I also have a few other podcasts and roundtables in the queue.

If you're looking for podcast guests, or want to collaborate on something, shoot me a DM.

DESIGN QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.”
– Dieter F. Uchtdorf

My AI disclaimer: I write the main story. I find the news stories, and the summary is by ChatGPT. I write the My Takes bullet. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image.

Thanks for reading!

–Jim

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