[2] After receiving his BFA, Byrd moved to Pittsburgh to work at WQED-TV, where he did design for the nascent Mister Rogers' Neighborhood show.

In the period 1968 to 1973, he and Fantasy Unlimited created posters for Jimi Hendrix, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Traffic, and Bill Graham favorite the Grateful Dead.

[7] Byrd designed posters for notable stage musicals including Follies, Godspell, The Robber Bridegroom, The Grand Tour, The Survival of St. Joan, Jesus Christ Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors, and others.

His other tasks included working with writer J. K. Rowling on the first three books to make a visual cornerstone for the Harry Potter films that were to follow.

[2][12] In 1973, Byrd along with several other prominent illustrators, received a Grammy Award for the album packaging of the London Philharmonic Orchestra version of Tommy by the Who.

Hearn, Michael Patrick; The Art of the Broadway Poster; New York, Ballantine Books; First Edition 1980; ISBN 0-345-28423-2 Byrd, David Edward and von Goeben, Robert; POSTER CHILD: The Psychedelic Art & Technicolor Life of David Edward Byrd; New York, Abrams books; First Edition 2023; ISBN 978-1-949480-40-5