Syd Mead

Sydney Jay Mead (July 18, 1933 – December 30, 2019) was an American industrial designer and neofuturistic concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner and Alien. 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."

Born on July 18, 1933 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His father was a Baptist Minister, who read him pulp magazines, such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, sparking his interest in science-fiction. He was skilled in drawing at a young age. According to Mead, "by the time I was in high school, I could draw the human figure, I could draw animals, and I had a sense of shading to show shape. I was really quite accomplished at that point with brush technique and so-forth.". He graduated from high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1951. After serving a three-year enlistment in the U.S. Army, Mead attended the Art Center School in Los Angeles (now the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena), where he graduated in June 1959.

For Disney, he worked as a concept artist on Tron, Mission to Mars and Tomorrowland, and as a production designer in The Timekeeper and Mission to Mars.