Carin Goldberg

Carin Goldberg (June 12, 1953 – January 19, 2023) was an American graphic designer, publication designer and brand consultant. She was known for her cover designs for record albums and books, with her work appearing in and on the covers of the New York Times Book Review, the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and Wired. Her use of visual historical references generated controversy within the graphic design community.

Early life and education Carin Goldberg was born in New York City on June 12, 1953, and grew up in Long Island and New Jersey. She graduated from the Cooper Union in 1975 with a BFA in painting. She moved on to Columbia Records in 1979 and worked with former classmate Gene Greif, as well as Paula Scher, Henrietta Condak, and John Berg. There, along with Scher and others, she found inspiration in early 20th-century graphics and began to incorporate historical references into her work.

In 1982, Goldberg started her own firm, Carin Goldberg Design. She continued to work for record label clients, but also sought out book design assignments. Her work on the cover for the 1986 Vintage Books edition of James Joyce's Ulysses placed her in the midst of the 1980s fight over appropriation. The tilted lettering and large initial caps in Goldberg's design for the Ulysses cover bore strong similarities to a 1928 poster by Paul Renner. Philip Meggs praised her in his 1989 essay "The Women Who Saved New York!" for using historical styles in contemporary design,

In 2008, she was honored by the Art Directors Club for her work in education. In 2009, she received the AIGA Medal for her contributions to the field of graphic design. Goldberg won the Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize for Design in 2014.

Goldberg's designs have been included in museum exhibits, including Graphic Design in America at the Walker Art Center (1989) and Mixing Messages at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (1996). She was the subject of the book Hall of Femmes: Carin Goldberg for the Hall of Femmes project in 2009.

Personal life Goldberg died in her home in Stanfordville, New York, of a glioblastoma brain tumor, according to her husband, James Biber.

Awards 2008 Art Directors Club of New York Grandmasters Award for Excellence in Education

Exhibitions 1989 Walker Art Center, "Graphic Design in America" 1996 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, "Mixing Messages"