Chpater 18: International Typographic Style, & Chapter 19: The New York School

Chapter 18 covers a 1950's design movement that originated from Germany and Switzerland.  This design was very mathematical and had a scientific approach to all aspects of design.  Even though it was mathematical, generally the designs were asymmetrical and constructed through a grid.  One very important aspect of this design movement was that it helped combine the world internationally with world-wide known pictographs and glyphs.  There was an increasing need for communicative clarity, especially when it came to signs and travel information.  This Swiss design helped push these needs further. During this time, sans serif because even more popular, and all forms of propaganda were disposed of.  It was time for corporate and product advertising.  One man who helped push the Swiss movement was Ernst Keller.  He was versatile and took interest in simple forms, symbolic imagery, contrasting color and expressive lettering.  Another man of interest is Max Huber, who used very bright hues in his photographs alongside complex organized compositions.  They are borderline chaotic, but his placement of images has purpose and a comfort value to it.  Design took on a new look during this style as Anton Stankowski created visual forms that possessed some sort of physical force to it. He played with illusions and made abstract images that played with eyesight.  During the International Typographic Style, many new fonts were created.  This included Univers, Helvetica, and Palatino.  Univers was a great font, and Emil Ruder realized its potential.  Due to the consistent baseline and and x-height, all 21 different typefaces could be used together in an appealing way.  

Chapter 19 focuses mainly on the American movement during the mid-1900's. A new form of advertising arose containing a comedic effect.  Most of the designs were influenced by European design because America wasn't at the top when it came to design during this era.  However, American designers added some of their own style, forms and concepts which certainly helped it out. Paul Rand can be attributed with the credit of pushing America towards modern design.  He created influential magazine covers which stepped past usual American design traditions. The playful, dynamic and the unexpected often came into Rand's work. Bradbury Thompson emerged as one of the most influential designers in America after WWII. His adventurous personality and knowledge of printing allowed him to bring symbolics to power. Saul Bass was mentioned in this chapter as well because he was the first person to unify both print and media graphics with his work in The Man With the Golden Arm.  He is considered to be the most influential film/graphic designer due to his success and amazing approach to it.  Something I didn't know what that Yale has a highly respected Graphic Design program, and many of the leading designers taught there at some point.  A woman, Cipe Pineles, became the first woman to be admitted into the New York Art Director's Club, which broke typical stereotypes.  Design is usually male-dominated, so it's great to have a monumental mark such as this. It's also important to note that the magazines, Print and Communication Arts, became widely known during this period and inspired artists everywhere.  They are a great art magazine today so it's great to know a bit about their history.   

I was surprised to read that it took Adrian Frutiger three years to create the font Univers.  The family was huge and containing 21 different sans serif fonts.  This would explain the huge length of time Frutiger put in to create it, but it's amazing that someone worked for three years looking at the same font!

In chapter 18, it mentions a design Zapf who is responsible for creating several fonts.  Did he create Zapf Chancery, or was this font simply named after him?