Susan Kare

  • Pioneer of pixel art and graphical computer interface
Susan Kare

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Artist and graphic designer Susan Kare was born in Ithaca, New York, wanting to be a fine artist or teacher. In 1983, Kare designed the visual core language for the first computer and was an integral member in the prerelease marketing campaign. 

When Steve Jobs left in 1986, Kare followed him to to become the creative director and the new company’s 10th employee. 

As an independent designer, Kare has worked with Microsoft, Motorola and Sony Pictures. In 2003, she was recommended by Nancy Pelosi to fill one of four appointments to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee to design coins for the . In 2015, the exhibited the first physical representation of her iconography.

Class year: 1975
Major: art; Doctor of Science honorary degree, 2001

Happening at Mount Holyoke

Recent Campus News

ߣߣ students Kelly Aja ’27 and Kimberly Dominguez ’27 have been selected for the Beckman Scholars Program through a competitive application process.

The Phoenix, once a neglected outbuilding on the ߣߣ campus, has been transformed into an environmentally conscious studio space thanks to a team of faculty and student research assistants.

ߣߣ has selected “Parable of the Sower” for its Common Read for the 2025–2026 academic year. The New York Times named the novel a Notable Book of the Year for its prescient treatment of racial justice, climate collapse and fascism.