Yesterday, legend Hillman Curtis passed away at age 51 of cancer. His loss will be felt by many in the variety of industries he touched. Curtis had a long career as a musician, designer, author… and most recently a filmmaker, which is how I came to know of him.

Curtis’ Artist Series videos inspired me as a young designer in a way few other things had. We’ve shared a few of his videos on this site over time. His James Victore video (below) still gives me goosebumps. Curtis is able to bring to life James’ intense passion for wielding the spiked club we all have as designers. I later took James’ poster workshop at SVA, which violently changed my outlook on design while still in college.

“Most everything I’ve learned in film or otherwise has been by just diving in and doing it.”
—Hillman Curtis interview

Here are a few of our favorite from his Artists Series. Check out the rest of his films at hillmancurtis.com.

James Victore

Paula Scher

Milton Glaser

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Ricky Salsberry is an interactive designer working in Chicago and the editor of The Donut Project. In his spare time he reads/rants about technology, watches hockey, wrecks his bike, and designs some more.