Syd Mead is one of the most accomplished and widely respected concept artists and industrial designers. His career boasts an incredible array of projects from designing cars to drafting architectural renderings, but he is most famous for his work as a concept artist on some of the most visually arresting films in the history of cinema. Since working on Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1978 as a production illustrator Syd Mead always aimed to render “reality ahead of schedule,” creating evocative designs that marry believable content with a neofuturistic form. It was this ability to predict technological potential that helped Mead create such a distinctive and influential aesthetic. From his work with Ridley Scott on Blade Runner, to his striking designs for the light cycles in Tron, to his imposing concept art for the U.S.S. Sulaco in James Cameron’s Aliens, Syd Mead played a pivotal role in shaping cinema’s vision of the future.