Final Project Images

Here are the final images for the Collaborative Design projects. I assisted in offering ideas to the designs and researching information on the progression on Hieroglyphic scripts through time.

International Style

Josef-Muller Brockmann

 Uberholem..? Im Zweifel nie! 1957

 The Family of Man 1957-1958

Konrad Wachsmann, Bauen in Unserer Zeit 1958

Brockmann was an illustrator who converted to using the international style in the 1950s. He used Akzidenz Grotestk typography and made excellent use of it throughout his career. It gave a modern look that was excellent and dramatic and worked incredibly well with photos. It fulfilled its role nicely in that it did its function well without it being too dramatic and stylized. Across the three images, you can see the font employed to great effect as well.

Brockmann's designs were based on abstract concepts that allowed him to capture the subject matter and emphasize it, while keeping the designs simplistic. To the average viewer, they're likely to evoke the idea of it being too simple but yet, the designs work due to their simplicity in that it doesn't overload the viewer with too much information. It catches their attention and slowly draws them in with the information and makes them curious about the subject matter and why he chose to use this particular design.


Paul Rand

 ABC Logo 1962

 Season's Greetings ACI 1947

 Eye Bee M Poster 1970

 

Many people have seen his works, but probably never knew it. His name is synonymous with Corporate Identity and the International Style in the United States.  As you can see from above, he has created the 'abc' logo as well as various others. Unlike other designs, logos need a longevity to them to create an identity associated with the company over a long period of time. Designers recognized this and strived to create a design that has lasting appeal and was practical to apply to different formats and situations.

As you can see from the examples above, the designs are shockingly simple but eye catching too. Everyone is familiar with the abc logo which is still being used today. The other two not logos but rather messages. The IBM logo is a play on the letters with using objects for the letters I and B. Much like the iconic "I <3 NY" design, this one has the viewer figure it out and its impact causes it to stick in the person's head.

Jan Tschichold

 Typographische Gestaltung, 1935

 Original prospectus for "Die Neue Typograhie", 1928

 

 Original invitation notice for a lantern lecture, 1927

 

Tschichold was a proponent of New Typography in the 1920s and early 1930s. However, around the 1940s, he took a polarized position and repudiated New Typography due to that it's idea ran parallel to that of the Nazi Regime during WWII. Above, we have examples that were before he objected the New Typography. We can see an adherence to the Grid system as well use of the Akzidenz Grotesk font to create the clean look to the designs. The Die Neue Typogrpahy is incredibly simplistic, using mostly fonts and a yellow background but due to the positioning of the text, it creates an composition that moves it beyond being simply a wall of text. The boldness at the top right pulls the viewer upwards but there is enough text to help draw the viewer downwards, especially with the rectangle two-thirds the way down to help push the viewer's eyes downwards towards the information.

Art Deco

Cassandre

 'Air-Orient' Poste Aérienne 1932

 'Normandie' French Line Poster 1935

 'Nord Express' Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits Poster 1927

A well known Art Deco graphic designer in Paris, Cassandre was a pseudonym  used by Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron. He was a member of the Purist Group and it is evident in the images. We can see across all the images that geometric shapes are dominant theme in his works. The idea is simple enough that it gets the information to the viewer without it having to be complicated. This a machinist aesthetic quality to them, as if the object were broken down into its only necessary components, the very small details not paid any attention to at all, as if it were frivolous and unnecessary to the object at all.

Examining the Normandie  image, we can see Cassandre really nailed the feeling of the ocean liner. It's very vertical but with the large dark shape of the front, the idea of this ship being large is very easily noticeable. Cassandre captures the basic necessities for the image to get an impact on the viewer. There is no major detail in the ship, just a sculptural feel to it. No blemishes at all, just it's pure basic essence.

 

Cipe Pineles

 Seventeen July yr 1949

 Charm January 1954

 Charm June yr 1951

Pineles was a pioneer in that she was the first woman to be an art director of a mass-media periodical and her success landed in magazines such as Charm and Seventeen. Pineles style clearly revolve around the female models on the cover of the magazines and how she intends to portray them to the audience. She takes a simplistic approach to the designs, reducing the image to it's necessary components while still intending to make its message clear to its viewers. The images presented show a near full body approach to the women, unlike in today where often much of the figure is cropped out.

Of particular note is the Seventeen image. It is an interesting image in that at a quick glance, the  viewer is suggested that it's simply a mirror image of the lady on top. On closer inspection, you will notice that it's in fact not a mirrored image at all. The female on top is smiling while the bottom has more a smirk. The umbrellas are also an indication that it's not a mirror as the top female is holding the umbrella that is on the bottom and vice versa. It's a very subtle but playful image.

Alexey Brodovitch

 Harper's Bazaar Spread, 1938

Alexey became an influential art director in America during the 1930s. He  worked with Cassandre, which Alexey hired for a creative series cover for Harper's Bazaar. Alexey also ended up working on some double page spreads which were considered very compelling. In the above images, you can see he used the images and texts to resemble each other. On the left, you would have the model in a pose, very strong composition. On the right, you would find text that captures the essence of the photo through the text's positioning and format. It was as if Alexey were trying to capture the elements of the photo and is showing it through pure text alone.