Burton Kramer

Burton Kramer is a Canadian graphic designer and artist whose work has left a lasting mark on modern design and visual communication. Born in New York City in 1932, Kramer became one of the most important figures in Canadian design after moving to Toronto in the mid-1960s. He is best known for creating the bold 1974 logo of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a symbol that has become iconic in Canadian culture. Over a career spanning decades, he has contributed to corporate identity programs, signage systems, museum collections, teaching, and abstract painting, establishing himself as both a designer and an artist of international reputation.

Kramer’s education laid a strong foundation for his career. He studied industrial arts at the New York State University before enrolling at the Institute of Design in Chicago, also known as the New Bauhaus, where he earned a degree in visual communication. He then went on to the Yale School of Arts and Architecture, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design in 1957. While at Yale he studied under celebrated figures including Bradbury Thompson, Herbert Matter, Josef Albers, and Paul Rand. During this time he also spent a year at the Royal College of Art in London as a Fulbright Scholar, further shaping his international perspective.

Kramer began his professional career working in New York with Will Burtin and then became assistant art director at Architectural Record magazine and for New York Life Insurance Company. In 1960 he joined Geigy Chemical and Pharmaceuticals in Ardsley, New York, before relocating to Zurich to work as art director at Erwin Halpern Advertising. His work there earned him the Swiss Poster Award and the Swiss Packaging Award, and he became the first foreign member invited to join the Swiss Professional Graphic Design Society. These early years exposed him to the rigor and clarity of Swiss modernist design, an influence that would remain evident in his work.

In 1965 Kramer moved to Toronto, where he worked on the landmark Expo 67 as part of Paul Arthur & Associates, designing the map and directory system that guided millions of visitors. He also served as Director of Corporate Design for Clairtone, redesigning their visual identity and establishing a cohesive brand image. In 1967 he founded his own firm, Kramer Design Associates Limited, specializing in corporate identity, signage, and print design. His studio went on to work with major institutions including the Royal Ontario Museum, Radio Canada International, and the Ontario Educational Communications Authority.

Kramer’s most celebrated achievement came in 1974 when, after becoming a Canadian citizen, he designed the new corporate identity for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The logo, which represented a radiating “C” for Canada, symbolized broadcasting reaching in all directions. It was not just a logo but a full identity program, including printed matter, signage, uniforms, and a standards manual. The design has since become one of the most recognized and enduring symbols of Canadian identity and remains a milestone in modernist logo design. That same year Kramer was invited to join the Alliance Graphique Internationale, becoming one of the first Canadians to be admitted to the prestigious international design organization.

Alongside his practice, Kramer was committed to education. He taught for more than two decades at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, where he influenced generations of students in corporate design and typography. He also lectured in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Switzerland, extending his reach as a teacher and advocate of thoughtful design. His essays and projects were featured in influential publications such as Top Trademarks & Symbols of the World and Idea magazine. His archives are now part of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology, ensuring that his work is preserved for future study.

Kramer’s career has been recognized with numerous honors. He was named a Fellow of the Graphic Designers of Canada in 1975, received the Order of Ontario in 2002 as the first graphic designer to be awarded that honor, and was given an honorary doctorate from OCAD in 2003. In 2015 he received the Usherwood Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors and Designers of Canada, and in 2018 he was named to the Order of Canada, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors.

Since retiring from graphic design in 1993, Kramer has devoted himself to abstract painting. His geometric abstractions, filled with rigorous structure and vibrant color, have been exhibited in galleries across Canada and internationally. In this later stage of his career, he has continued to explore the intersection of clarity and expression that defined his design work, showing the consistency of his creative vision across disciplines.