It's a trip back in time for designer Stefan Sagmeister.

A timeline of his life in an exhibition at the School of Visual Arts Chelsea Gallery includes event posters made as a high school student in Austria. 

What You Need To Know

  • Design legend Stefan Sagmeister is the latest honoree in the School of Visual Arts Masters series

  • A retrospective of Sagmeister's work is on display at SVA's Chelsea Gallery through Oct. 12

  • This is SVA's 33rd Masters Series 

"I think I was fascinated by the fact that you could put something up, and 200 people would show up," Sagmeister said. 

It was the start of what would be a successful career in design for Sagmeister, who has been honored through the School of Visual Arts Masters series.

It's an award and exhibition honoring the great visual communicators of our time. 

"The whole idea is to bring visibility, illuminate the work of artists and designers who have made big contributions to the world of art and design but also just in general to our visual lives," Tyson Scross, director of SVA Galleries, said. 

Among Sagmeister's most recognizable works are album and CD covers for artists like The Rolling Stones, David Byrne and Lou Reed.

There's a room to view his documentary "The Happy Film," which studied the quest of becoming a happier and better person.

The exhibition begins with his latest work, which asks viewers to look at the big picture, indicating that humanity is moving in the right direction. 

"We are much healthier than we used to be. Many more of us live in a democracy than a dictatorship than it used to be. Many more of us are actually alive than dead because we live much, much longer," said Sagmeister, who backs it up with Data Visualizations and statistics. 

SVA also scanned every page of every sketchbook Sagmeister made in his entire career, a chance to get inside his brain and creative process as he designed everything from furniture to watches to brand identities. Sagmeister says overall, the exhibition displays a life lived. 

"Putting the show together and looking for the material, I was reminded of pieces, I did 35 years ago so there is a certain amount of nostalgia with it but ultimately I still feel I am closest to the work that I did yesterday," he said. 

Sagmeister says he is still very much interested and in love with being a designer.

The exhibition is on display through Oct. 12.