Pioneering Art Director Dies

Louis Silverstein, who became known as the “godfather” of modern newspaper design, died last week at 92.  As art director of the New York Times, Silverstein made the “Gray Lady” more visually appealing in the 1970s at a time when newspapers faced increasing competition from television. By using creative typefaces, enlarging photographs and adding graphics, he modernized a paper that had always been slow to change its look. Silverstein made his first changes to the newspaper's look in 1967 when he changed the typeface and eliminated the period that had followed the Times name since its founding. “Every time you pick up the paper, you have in your hands a reflection of Lou’s sparkling talent,” former executive editor A. M. Rosenthal once said.