Burkey Belser: Designer of ubiquitous nutrition facts label, dies at 76

American graphic designer Burkey Belser lived from July 8, 1947, until September 25, 2023. The U.S. Nutrition information label, which he designed, is what made him most famous.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a food labeling system that is required to be on all packaged foods in the United States and has been dubbed “the most frequently reproduced graphic in the world.”

He is also well-known for his innovative work in the field of legal advertising, which led to both his induction into the Legal Marketing Association’s Hall of Fame and the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Belser served as one of nine judges for the Communication Arts Design Annual in 2007, which many consider to be the most prestigious graphic design competition in the country.

Burkey Belser: Designer of ubiquitous nutrition facts label, dies at 76

Burkey Belser, a graphic designer who invented the omnipresent nutrition facts label—a stark rectangle giving calories, fat, salt, and other content information—died on September 25 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland. The label is seen on the packaging of almost every edible product sold in grocery stores. He was 76.
His wife Donna Greenfield, with whom he co-founded the Washington, D.C., design firm Greenfield/Belser, confirmed that bladder cancer was the cause of death.