Sydney Jay Mead (July 18, 1933 – December 30, 2019)^[3] was an American industrial designer and neo-futurist concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron. Mead has been described as “the artist who illustrates the future” and “one of the most influential concept artists and industrial designers of our time.”^[4][5]
In 1959, Mead was recruited to Ford Motor Company‘s Advanced Styling Studio by Elwood Engel. From 1960 to 1961, Mead worked in Ford Motor Company Styling in Detroit, Michigan. Mead left Ford after two years to illustrate books and catalogues for companies including United States Steel, Celanese, Allis-Chalmers and Atlas Cement. In 1970, he launched Syd Mead, Inc. in Detroit with clients including Philips Electronics.^[6]
With his own company in the 1970s, Mead spent about a third of his time in Europe, primarily to provide designs and illustrations for Philips, and he continued to work for international clients.^[7] Through the 1970s and 1980s, Mead and his company provided architectural renderings, both interior and exterior, for clients including Intercontinental Hotels,^[8] 3D International, Harwood Taylor & Associates, Don Ghia, Gresham & Smith^[9] and Philip Koether Architects.^[10]
Beginning in 1983, Mead developed working relationships with Sony, Minolta, Dentsu, Dyflex, Tiger Corporation, Seibu, Mitsukoshi, Bandai, NHK and Honda.^[11]
Mead’s one-man shows began in 1973 with an exhibit at documenta 6 in Kassel, West Germany. His work was later exhibited in Japan, Italy, California and Spain.^[11] In 1983, Mead was invited by Chrysler Corporation to be a guest speaker to its design staff. He created a series of slides to provide visuals to the lecture, and the resulting presentation was a success. It was later expanded and enhanced with computer-generated images specifically created at the requests of several clients, including Disney, Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Pratt Institute and the Society of Illustrators. In March 2010, Mead completed a four-city tour of Australia.^[7]
In 1993, a digital gallery consisting of 50 examples of his art with interface screens designed by him became one of the first CD-ROMs released in Japan. In 2004, Mead co-operated with Gnomon School of Visual Effects to produce a four-volume “how-to” DVD series titled Techniques of Syd Mead.^[7]
In 2018, Mead published his autobiography, titled A Future Remembered.^[12] Regarding his work, Mead said, “the idea supersedes technique,”^[7] and that “I’ve called science fiction ‘reality ahead of schedule.'”^[13]