Stefan Kanchev

• Name — Stefan Kanchev • Birth Name — Stefan Kirov Kanchev • Born — 6 August 1915 • Birthplace — Kalofer, Kingdom of Bulgaria • Died — 22 August 2001 • Known for — Graphic art

Kanchev was born 6 August 1915 in Kalofer, a town in the sub-Balkan valleys of south central Bulgaria (then the Kingdom of Bulgaria). The son of an icon painter, he enrolled at the National Academy of Art in the capital Sofia when he was 25, where he studied mural painting in 1940–1945 under Dechko Uzunov.

After leaving the National Academy of Art shortly before graduation, Kanchev took part in exhibitions and biennales in Bulgaria and abroad over the next 22 years, including Belgrade, Budapest, Berlin, Moscow, Warsaw, Brno, Ljubljana and New York City. During this time, individual exhibitions of his work were organized in Sofia, Moscow, Prague, Berlin, Warsaw and Budapest, among other cities. In 1967 when he was 52, Kanchev participated in an AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) international exhibition in which he presented 23 of his logos, including his Petrol AD trademark. Fifteen years later, in 1982, Japanese magazine Idea ran a 16-page feature on Kanchev and his work. At the age of 79 in 1994 he was named among the world's top ten trademark artists along with Paul Rand and Saul Bass. Kanchev died on 22 August 2001. In June 2009, the premier Sofia Design Week featured an exhibition dedicated to Kanchev's logos.

Kanchev's work spanned most varieties of applied art, though he was most productive in his trademark and logo work and as a designer of book covers, posters, greetings cards, print advertisements, stamps, product labels and packaging. As a designer, Kanchev was often inspired by traditional Bulgarian art and folklore.