In 1945, Dan Friedman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. After that, he studied at the Ulm School of Design. There, he studied graphic design. He also studied at Schule für Gestaltung Basel. There, he studied under Wolfgang Weingart and Armin Hofmann. In 1969 he moved back to the United States.^[1]

Upon returning to America, Friedman was senior designer at Anspach Grossman Portugal, from 1975 to 1977. For three years, from 1970 to 1973, he taught at Yale University. From 1972 to 1975, he was the chairman of the board for the design department at State University of New York at Purchase. Friedman designed posters, letterheads, logos, and more, while working for Pentagram, from 1979 until 1984. Clients included Citibank and Williwear.^[1] He used found objects to create Day-Glo furniture.^[2] In 1982 he designed a book for his friend, Keith Haring. He did work for the Neotu Gallery.^[1]

Starting in 1994 he was the Frank Stanton Professor of Graphic Design at the Cooper Union.^[1]

Friedman died of AIDS in 1995 at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York City.^[2]

His work is held in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.^[1][3]

• with Jeffrey Dietch, Steven Holt and Alessandro Mendini. Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism. New Haven: Yale University Press (1994). ISBN 0300058489.
• with Jeffrey Dietch. Post Human. Pully/Lausanne: FAE Musée d'Art Contemporain (1992).

• Interview with Dan Friedman, 1994, Eye 14