We are so pleased to announce the Carin Goldberg Collection is open for research. The renowned designer Goldberg (1953-2023) was born in Manhattan and grew up on Long Island and in New Jersey. She graduated from Cooper Union in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts, but she quickly turned her attention to graphic design. She began her career at CBS Television, and then moved to album cover design at Atlantic and then CBS Records, where Paula Scher was art director. She was given a great deal of creative latitude, experimenting with new ideas and foraging design history, especially the avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century, for inspiration.

In 1982, she departed CBS to start her own design firm. In addition to iconic album covers (including Madonna’s 1983 self-titled debut album), Goldberg was soon designing book jackets for many New York publishers. Her adventurous and thoughtful post-modern style defined the look of new books in the 1980s and 1990s.
     

 

In the 2000s she stepped away from book jacket design to devote herself to more complex book projects, magazine consulting, and other freelance endeavors. In 2009, she received the American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal, and in 2012 The Cooper Union awarded her the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Medal for distinguished achievement in art. 

Goldberg was a beloved and revered figure at SVA, where she taught Typography and Senior Portfolio Thesis, Design History and Editorial Design for thirty-five years. She shaped a generation of young designers with her wide-ranging cultural and historical knowledge, unsparing critiques, expansive generosity, and flawless eye. She was one of the first recipients of the Art Directors Club Grandmasters Award for Excellence in Education.

The Goldberg Collection, the gift of James Biber, primarily consists of book jackets, books and posters. A extensive collection of her digital files is not yet available for research; please contact the Archives for more information.