Get bitten by the bug

The original concept behind the first Volkswagen, the company, and its name, is the notion of a people’s car—a car affordable and practical enough for common people to own. Hence the name, which is literally “people’s car.”

As the 1960s came to a close, Volkswagen faced increasingly stiff competition from European and Japanese cars

Although designed in the 1930s, due to World War II, civilian Beetles only began to be produced in significant numbers by the end of the 1940s. The car was then internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the Volkswagen.

The stylish Fiat 500

Launched as the Nuova (new) 500 in July 1957, as a successor to the 500 “Topolino,” it was an inexpensive and practical little car. Measuring 2.97 metres (9 feet 9 inches) long, and originally powered by a 479cc two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, the 500 was smaller than Fiat’s 600, launched two years earlier, and is considered one of the first purpose-designed city cars.

Despite its very small size, the 500 proved to be an enormously practical vehicle with large sales throughout Europe.

Besides the two-door coupé, it was also available as the “Giardiniera” estate; this variant featured the standard engine laid on its side, the wheelbase lengthened by 10cm (3.9" in") to provide a more convenient rear seat, a full-length sunroof, and larger brakes.

Inspired by Herb Lubalin

Herb Lubalin was fascinated by how typography could be used for communication. He understood how a choice of typeface could fundamentally alter the look and sound of words to communicate messages to his readers.

Lubalin is well-known for his work on Eros and Fact magazines, as well as Avant Garde for which he designed the ITC Avant Garde typeface. His studio worked on magazines, packaging, posters, and corporate identity designs, but his most adventurous and interesting work was for his own U&lc typographic journal. The most complete reference for Lubalin’s work is Adrian Shaughnessy’s ‘Herb Lubalin: American Graphic Designer’, first published by Unit Editions in 2012.

About Herb Lubalin

Throughout his long career, American graphic designer and typographer Herb Lubalin worked on magazines, packaging, posters, and corporate identity designs. He is perhaps best-known for his work on Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde magazines. His typographic journal U&lc (Upper and lower case) allowed Lubalin to showcase his designs and experiment with creative typography.

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