Graphic Designers

Unit criteria

• Pass: Describe at least two historical and contemporary examples of graphic design, identifying the designers involved and showing the characteristics and factors influencing the designs.

• Merit: Review and present diverse examples of graphic design, effectively identifying the designers involved and explaining the characteristics and factors influencing designs.

Paul Rand 1914 - 1996

“Good design adds value of some kind, gives meaning, and, not incidentally, can be sheer pleasure to behold; it respects the viewer’s sensibilities and rewards the entrepreneur.”

• Well-known American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs

• He designed many posters and corporate identities, including the logos for IBM, UPS and ABC

• http://www.paul-rand.com/

Alan Fletcher 1931-2006

RSA Journal 1996

V&A logo1989

The starting point of a piece of work was not how it should be done, but why

He wrote ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ Designed to be opened at random, The Art of Looking Sideways, Alan Fletcher’s 2001 book, is an unfailing source of wit, elegance and inspiration. At over a thousand pages, it is a spectacular treatise on visual thinking, one that illustrates the designer’s sense of play and his broad frame of reference.

1976, Penguin book cover

Alan Fletcher – Typography

http://design.designmuseum.org/design/alan-fletcher

Jan Tschichold 1902-1974

Tschichold was one of the most powerful influences on 20th century typography. The son of a sign painter and trained in calligraphy, Tschichold began working with typography at a very early age. Raised in Germany, he fled to Switzerland during the rise of the Nazi party. His emphasis on new typography and sans-serif typefaces was deemed a threat to the cultural heritage of Germany, which traditionally used Blackletter Typography and the Nazis seized much of his work before he was able to flee the country.

He spent part of his career with Penguin Books and while he was there he developed a standardized practice for creating the covers for all of the books produced by Penguin. He personally oversaw the development of more than 500 books between the years 1947-49.

William Golden 1911-1959

“A member of a distinguished group of pioneers in the post-World War II era who gave shape to the emerging field of graphic design,” http://www.aiga.org/medalist-williamgolden/

Work produced for CBS Television

1957

I think the fine artist makes a personal statement about his world and his reactions to his world. He makes it to a limited audience or to a big audience—but it's all his. The advertising designer has a completely different function. He may be someone who thought he wanted to be a painter—but wasn't. If (the designer) is honest enough, he becomes a professional who can do something that is not his own.

Alvin Lustig 1915-55

Alvin Lustig was an American book designer, graphic designer and typeface designer. He started off as a printer and typographer, and after a few years focused solely on design. He worked for Look Magazine until 1946. Lustig was a true Modernist designer. He was a kin to the Bauhaus school of thought, that designers should pursue a holistic approach to their work and design every aspect of a project, and applied it to every aspect of his career. "His method was to read a text and get the feel of the author's creative drive, then to restate it in his own graphic terms," http://www.alvinlustig.com/index.php

Milton Glaser 1929 -

http://www.miltonglaser.com/

To many, Milton Glaser is the embodiment of American graphic design during the latter half of this century. His presence and impact on the profession internationally is formidable. Immensely creative and articulate, he is a modern renaissance man — one of a rare breed of intellectual designer-illustrators, who brings a depth of understanding and conceptual thinking, combined with a diverse richness of visual language, to his highly inventive and individualistic work. *

Further research

• 5 Graphic Designers you should all know: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/names-designers-should-know-6133211

• History of food packaging: http://www.graphicpkgeurope.com/know-how/packaging-history-timeline/#24

• 50 best packaging designs: http://jayce-o.blogspot.com/2012/10/60-best-food-packaging-designs-inspiration.html