“And if you can’t live with contradiction, get out of town, right?”

— Milton Glaser

Renowned graphic designer Milton Glaser, who had a big hand in designing the look of the era Mad Men considers this season, is featured in a fantastic preview piece this week in the New York Times.

More from Randy Kennedy’s story:

“It really turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” he said. This was partly because it allowed him to think again about the deeply unsettled time he helped define, when New York was sliding toward near-insolvency, the country was mired in war, disillusionment was profound, and yet there was still a field called advertising whose job was to sell dreams and create desire. Occasionally, he said, it had — and still has — the power to transcend commerce and speak to the human condition.

“The search for that thread, the experience that we all feel rooted in, is what we do — that’s the best thing we can do,” Mr. Glaser said, adding with a shrug and a smile, “And if you can’t live with contradiction, get out of town, right?”