Syd Mead, one of the truly great futuristic design visionaries, passed away on Dec. 30, at 86 years. His designs set a standard for sci-fi movie designs in 1970s up to the present.
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Earth on July 18, 1933 to a Baptist minister, he grew up reading sci-fi pulp mags like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. He worked on his drawing skills through high school and then joined the U.S. Army for three years. Afterwards, he attended an art school in Los Angeles.
Mead started his artistic career as a car designer for the Ford Motor Company. Throughout his career, he created designs for Philips Electronics, United States Steel, Honda, Sony, and many others including architectural firms.
His entree into film came in the late ’70s, when approached to design a spacecraft for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which became V’Ger.
His incredible design work on ST:TMP led to a larger and more profound film project—Blade Runner. The Ridley Scott film heavily incorporated Mead’s designs, which provided a new, dystopic look to the future from vehicles, buildings, and even the Voight-Kampff Machine—influencing many sci-fi films and video games that have come since.
Speaking of video games, Mead was hired to create concept art for Tron. Once again, his designs created enduring visual concepts for sci-fi and fantasy like the light cycle, Master Control Panel (MCP), I/O tower, and even the circuit design of the digital beings of the Grid.
Mead continued to produce notable designs for films 2010, Elysium, Timecop, Johnny Mnemonic, Blade Runner 2049, and more including Disney’s Tomorrowland, with Mead creating the visually stunning concept city. Additionally, fans of the Alien franchise instantly recognize his largest contribution to Aliens—the Conestoga-class troop transport USS Sulaco (exterior and interior designs).
Mead even provided designs for two anime series, Turn A Gundam and Yamato 2520.
Mead passed away from complications from lymphoma at his home with his long-time spouse and business partner, Roger Servick, at his side. Mead’s last words, as Servick shared with Deadline, were “I’m done here. They’re coming to take me back.”
Learn more about Syd Mead and his lifetime of futuristic designs on his site: www.sydmead.com.
