meanwhile consumers assumed that they were being manipulated by ads

Paul Rand Modern Art in Your Life, 1950

The sophisticated style of Alexey Brodovitch

brodovitch cover, harper's bazaar, 1952

alexey brodovitch exerted significant influence on American graphic design and photograph during his 25 year tenure as art director of Harper's Bazaar. his use of asymmetrical layouts, white space and dynamic imagery changed the nature of magazine design.

Mock-up spread for Harper's, late 1940s?

Brodovitch exposed Americans to the European avant-garde by commissioning work from leading European artists and photographers, including A.M. Cassisandre, Salvador Dali, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Man Ray.

spread for harper's, late 1930s ("if you don't like full skirts")

what's brodovitch style? elegance!

 The Audry Hepburn Cover, 1956

1- while fashion magazines showed the whole garment, brodovitch would crop images unexpectedly or off-center to bring a new dynamism to the layout.
2- the form lies in the photograph or illustration as a cue for how to handle the shape of the text, whether splayed out on the page or in the shape of a fan,
3- only two images per page,
4- a suggested surrealist content, i.e., female figures in blurry forms to communicate this new way of sharing information, torn edges on photographs, or pages, as if they had been torn through with a woman's figure stepping out of them. or covers and spreads of harper's in the form of lips, hands, and eyes. 

PUBLIC INTEREST DESIGN & PUBLIC INFORMATION DESIGN

Above: Martin Weitzman's WPA fire safety poster (ca. 1936), Syphillis poster (1930's), Jenny on the Job poster (1943), George Giusti's Davison Chemical Corporation ad (1944).

the modern look of Lester Beall

what we have here?

1- european influence,
2- american energy,
3- color, shape tone interacting with layering sequence, drop-outs, overlays, and other processes,
4- a carefully manipulated vocabulary,

5- overall simplification, the message tells the story.

more of Lester Beall posters here.

From AIGA: 

Through the 1930s and 1940s Beall produced innovative and highly regarded work for clients including the Chicago Tribune, Sterling Engraving, The Art Directors Club of New York, Hiram Walker, Abbott Laboratories and Time magazine. Of particular interest was his work for the Crowell Publishing Company which produced Colliers magazine. Also of interest in this period are the remarkable poster series for the United States government's Rural Electrification Administration.

You know of "pictorial statistics"? That's Neurath's contribution to graphic design

Otto Neurath came up with the idea of “representing social facts pictorially.” The idea was to bring “dead statistics” to life by making them visually attractive and memorable.

Neurath was right. Today in some circles, these might be referred to as “data visualizations” or “infographics”, previously referred to as “statistical graphics”, “picture statistics”, “pictorial statistics”, “information design” and or “information visualizations.”

Container Corporation of America's contribution to graphic design

 Container Corporation of America (CCA) was founded in 1926 and manufactured corrugated boxes. 1968 CCA merged with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc., becoming MARCOR. Under the leadership of Walter Paepcke, CCA was a patron of graphic arts and design. The company amassed a collection of artworks that eventually found their way to the National Museum of American Art. In the late 1940s, CCA commissioned Herbert Bayer to create a World Geo-Graphic Atlas, which was distributed free to more than 150 colleges and universities. A review described it as the "most handsome and best atlas ever published in America."  (WIKIPEDIA)

A M Cassandre 1940s

Herbert Bayer, 1962

Herbert Matter, 1942

Paul Rand, 1960s

 

Herbert Bayer, 1949

Lazslo Moholy-Nagy, 1940s?

John Massey, late 1940s

Mathew Leibowitz, 1943

Ben Shahn, 1944

Herbert Matter, 1941

Paul Rand, late 1950s

1940s jenny on the job by kula robbins

the star of this series is jenny, the model production worker. the government had encouraged entry of women into the workforce, replacing men fighting overseas. jenny on the job showcases eight posters issued in 1943 by the United States Public Health Services.

jenny became a role model for many young women, probably new to industrial jobs, on working safely and efficiently, doing her best to help the war effort.

on content:

1. kula is able to sell jenny as the girl next door,

2. jenny is not only a problem solver, but a dutiful citizen in times of war,

3. jenny exhibits a sense of optimism & valor,

on form:

3. accessible rendition: jenny in action, and message, sometimes as imperative ("let's keep our room clear") or descriptive: "lift weight the easy way",

4. friendly atmosphere, 

5. jenny comes out as resilient, witty & productive and    

a gallery of robbins' posters here, 

the genius of A. M. Cassandre (1920s-1940s)

A. M. Cassandre (1901- 1968) is an influential ukranian-french poster artist and type face designer. 

harper's 1939

his "art deco" posters are memorable for their innovative graphic solutions and their frequent denotations to such painters as Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso. 

Cassandre taught graphic design at the École des Arts Décoratifs and then at the École d'Art Graphique.

harper's 1938

In France, with the help of partners, he was able to set up his own advertising agency called Alliance Graphique.

his Bazaar's covers are unique in that they exhibit a particular french sense of humor, and a touch of surrealism,

What do we have? 

1. Cassandre is an Art Deco Pioneer. His posters for companies like Dubonnet and the Nord Express showcased the Art Deco aesthetic, characterized by its geometric shapes, bold colors, and clean lines. 

2. His typography alongside images, often designing typefaces that complemented his visual style. He also pioneered the integration of text and image in posters, creating designs that were both visually appealing and informative. 

3. Cassandre viewed the poster as a tool for commercial communication, aiming to capture attention and convey a message quickly and effectively.

sexy glamour and mystery? the vargas pinup girl!

vargas pinup 1920's

what's Vargas' secret?

there were four significant steps to the making of a Vargas pin-up: three sketches and the final work. 

1- he set down a quick sketch on a "cheap little pad." 

2- at this juncture, Vargas had recourse to a model, just in case he had "serious doubts about anatomy" or to check how light falls on the body. Vargas was known for his "hand" how a garment looks and feels on the skin. 

3- a final preparatory sketch was done in chalk on a heavier stock, usually heavy vellum. some watercolor for lips and eyes was sometimes added to this chalk study. 

after tracing the significant features of the drawing with a hard pencil, Vargas washed the watercolor board and allowed it to partially dry. then he began painting with "Windsor Newton" watercolors mixed with a small amount of glycerin (to render the trace as supple and sensual as possible).

pinup, 1930's

4- now, the figure was worked up in a series of subtle washes. 

5- clothing and props come later, drawn in chalk or pencil (on the finished figure), and were also completed in watercolor. sometimes cloths were applied as cut-outs and attached to a finished figural work. 

6- to finish, Vargas used an airbrush (which applies a soft mist of aspirated pigment) over the finished watercolor to soften and blend the features.

look at this back, then how the chemise yields and falls off the model's body.

click here for Vargas's illustrations for playboy throughout the 1960's-1980's, the beauty of the images is not at the same level as that of the 1930s and 1940s: the glamor and mystery are gone, and so is Vargas's touch for extreme detail.

BAUHAUS in architecture

In architecture, new objectivity,

Haus am Horn designed by George Muche

simple cubic design, utilizing steel and concrete in its construction. 

At the center of the house was a clerestory-lit living room, twenty-feet square, with specialized rooms surrounding it. this is how Walter Gropius described the design: "in each room, the function is important, e.g., the kitchen is the most practical and simple of kitchens --but it is not possible to use it as a dining room as well."

or Bruno Taut,

Bruno Taut's Onkel-Toms-Hütte, in Wilkistrasse

What's important is Taut's modern flat roofs, access to sun, air, and gardens, and generous amenities like gas, electric light, and bathrooms. critics on the political german right complained that these developments were too opulent for "simple people."

or else, the amazing Wissenhoffsiedlung!

The square implies flatness, no ornamentation (after loos)

Loos' Rufer House, 1922

Perhaps except for this Parthenon-like freeze (so the idea is still to attenuate the rigidness)... see the random arrangement of windows? the wall is a blank surface, a piece of paper for Neue Typographie 1- no central axis, 2- the "content" dictates the arrangement, 3- let's avoid "standard" solutions.

This freeze is pretty interesting for Loos. It is bridging classical and modern orders.

Loos implements Raumplan to emulate a natural landscape internalized through interconnecting volumes by a multilevel organization on a single floor.

1. see that the first and second floors have a split-level distinction; 

2. the second floor comprises the living area on the lower level and the dining room on the higher level. 

3. the dining area is seen as a part of the living area, and thus its volumes intersect. A small staircase (left) connects the two levels. 

4. the private study found on this floor is seen as separate. It is a solid volume that is disconnected from the continuous spaces of the living and dining areas and grounds the floor to the exterior walls.

The great Herbert Matter

In 1936, Matter was offered roundtrip passage to the United States as payment for his work with a Swiss ballet troupe. He spoke no English, yet traveled across the United States. When the tour was over, he decided to remain in New York. He went to see Alexey Brodovitch, who had been collecting the Swiss travel posters (two of which were hanging on Brodovitch's studio wall). Matter soon began taking photographs for Harper's Bazaar and Saks Fifth Avenue. Later, he was producing covers and inside spreads for Vogue.

 

 für schöne autofahrten die schweiz, 1934

During World War II, Matter made striking posters for Container Corporation of America. In 1944, he became the design consultant at Knoll, molding its graphic identity for over 12 years.

 

 

 or,

 or,

Matter practically invented the face up poster:

 What do we have here?

1. Matter's mastery of photomontage, the technique of combining different photographic images to create a new image, was groundbreaking. He used this technique to create dynamic and visually striking travel posters, advertisements, and corporate identities. 

2. Matter helped shape Post-War Aesthetics: His work for Knoll Furniture, the Guggenheim Museum, and the New Haven Railroad helped define the visual style of the post-war period in the United States. 

3. He elevated graphic design to a higher artistic level, moving it beyond simple illustration and into a form of visual communication that was both innovative and aesthetically pleasing. 

Check herbert matter's website.