An influential member of the New York School of editorial and advertising designers, Otto Storch is best known for his work as the art director of woman’s magazine McCall’s in the 1950s and ’60s. Born in Brooklyn in 1913, Storch took classes with legendary Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch. Inspired by Brodovitch’s opinionated approach to design, Storch wrote:

“Good art direction does not come from an uncertain person. I am capable of intense feeling and was willing to lose a popularity contest with departmental editors when necessary. The visual responsibility of the magazine was mine.”

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.

Bea Feitler has been described as “the pioneering female art director you’ve never heard of.” Only one exhibition has been staged about her work and one retrospective book published. “O Design de Bea Feitler,” written by her nephew, was published in her native Brazil in 2012. It took me months to track down a copy, but eventually, I found one.

Feitler combined Brodovitch’s mastery of the double-page spread with her choices of bold colors which were inspired by pop artists Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol, as well as street fashion and youth culture. I find her typographic designs especially fascinating, and especially how she often combined typography with deconstructed grids.

Alexey Brodovitch’s knowledge of photography gave his work its classic feel. Brodovitch often cropped photographs in unexpected ways, and he placed them off-centre—sometimes bleeding them outside the margins of a page—to create compositions which were full of energy and movement.

“Surprise quality can be achieved in many ways. It may be produced by a certain stimulating geometrical relationship between elements in the picture, or through the human interest of the situation photographed, or by calling our attention to some commonplace but fascinating thing we have never noticed before, or it can be achieved by looking at an everyday thing in a new interesting way.”

—Alexey Brodovitch

Although less well-known than many of his contemporaries, Bradbury Thompson has been called “one of the giants of 20th-century graphic design.” Thompson had an talent for blend modernist typographic approaches with classical typefaces and formal illustrations. It’s this blending which makes much of Thompson’s work distinctive and is something which inspires my work today. He said:

The art of typography, like architecture, is concerned with beauty and utility in contemporary terms… the typographic designer must present the arts and sciences of past centuries as well as those of today.

—Bradbury Thompson

Alvin Lustig’s work as a book, graphic, and typeface designer has been influential long after his death in 1955. His book cover for New Directions Publishing over a ten-year relationship included designs for James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and several Tennessee Williams plays including ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.’ Having been diagnosed with diabetes in his teens, by 1954 he was virtually blind and died at the age of only 40. Lustig said:

I make solutions that nobody wants to problems that don’t exist.

—Alvin Lustig

Max Huber found a balance between serving his clients and his own need to experiment with his designs. He experimented with bold colours and shapes, typographic elements and images. I love how Huber rarely adopted a typical approach to using photographs, instead combining them with those elements to create designs which always surprise me.

Moving from Switzerland to Milan and back again after the Second World War, Huber worked commercially on iconic and influential designs. He also taught graphic design in the Swiss town of Lugano, which coincidentally is where I stay when I go to work in Switzerland. He died in Mendrisio—where my Swiss office is—in 1992.

Lester Beall was an American modernist graphic designer. His modernist designs included bright, often primary, colours and he used bold lines shapes. He combined these graphic elements with photomontage to make covers and posters in a style which became his signature. While he is possibly best-known for his covers and posters, Beall also made designs for advertising, corporate identities, editorial, and packaging. Of Lester Beall, Herb Lubalin wrote:

Beall was responsible for taking American graphic design of the 1930s out of its mundane, tasteless form into the beginnings of what we know now as effective visual communication.

—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.

Ladislav Sutnar was a Czechoslovakian graphic designer born in 1897. Sutnar was one of the first designers to practice information design. Much of his work involved using design to present large amounts of data and make it accessible and understandable. He created information graphics and designs for a variety of manufacturing catalogues. Heavily influenced by Modernism, Sutnar’s work is characterised by his use of typography and limited colour palettes.

Max Huber found a balance between serving his clients and his own need to experiment with his designs. He experimented with bold colours and shapes, typographic elements and images. I love how Huber rarely adopted a typical approach to using photographs, instead combining them with those elements to create designs which always surprise me.

Moving from Switzerland to Milan and back again after the Second World War, Huber worked commercially on iconic and influential designs. He also taught graphic design in the Swiss town of Lugano, which coincidentally is where I stay when I go to work in Switzerland. He died in Mendrisio—where my Swiss office is—in 1992.

Armin Hofmann is a Swiss graphic designer whose work is known for its abstract shapes and lines. Born in 1920 and now 99 years old, Hofmann first taught, then became head of the Basel School of Design. His work has been widely exhibited in major galleries, including the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Throughout his long career, Armin Hofmann designed posters in the Swiss International Style, in particular for the Basel Stadt Theater. He valued visual communication above everything else in design, used techniques including photo-montage, experimental compositions, and primarily sans-serif typography.

David Carson is an American art director and graphic designer. He’s well known for innovative magazine designs—including the alternative rock-and-roll magazine Ray Gun—and his use of experimental typography. Famously, Carson was art director and designer at Ray Gun magazine for over three years. In one issue, he notoriously used Dingbat for what he considered a dull interview with Bryan Ferry.

Max Huber found a balance between serving his clients and his own need to experiment with his designs. He experimented with bold colours and shapes, typographic elements and images. I love how Huber rarely adopted a typical approach to using photographs, instead combining them with those elements to create designs which always surprise me.

Moving from Switzerland to Milan and back again after the Second World War, Huber worked commercially on iconic and influential designs. He also taught graphic design in the Swiss town of Lugano, which coincidentally is where I stay when I go to work in Switzerland. He died in Mendrisio—where my Swiss office is—in 1992.

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.

Giovanni Pintori was an Italian graphic designer who is most well-known for his work with Italian manufacturer Olivetti. Pintori is known for his minimalist style and use of geometric shapes. After leaving Olivetti, Pintori designed advertising, books, and magazines. In later life, Pintori concentrated on painting until he died in 1999 at the age of 87.

“I do not attempt to speak on behalf of the machines. Instead, I have tried to make them speak for themselves, through the graphic presentation of their elements, their operations and their use.“

Although less well-known than many of his contemporaries, Bradbury Thompson has been called “one of the giants of 20th-century graphic design.” Thompson had an talent for blend modernist typographic approaches with classical typefaces and formal illustrations. It’s this blending which makes much of Thompson’s work distinctive and is something which inspires my work today. He said:

The art of typography, like architecture, is concerned with beauty and utility in contemporary terms… the typographic designer must present the arts and sciences of past centuries as well as those of today.

—Bradbury Thompson

Giovanni Pintori was an Italian graphic designer who is most well-known for his work with Italian manufacturer Olivetti. Pintori is known for his minimalist style and use of geometric shapes. After leaving Olivetti, Pintori designed advertising, books, and magazines. In later life, Pintori concentrated on painting until he died in 1999 at the age of 87.

“I do not attempt to speak on behalf of the machines. Instead, I have tried to make them speak for themselves, through the graphic presentation of their elements, their operations and their use.“

Giovanni Pintori was an Italian graphic designer who is most well-known for his work with Italian manufacturer Olivetti. Pintori is known for his minimalist style and use of geometric shapes. After leaving Olivetti, Pintori designed advertising, books, and magazines. In later life, Pintori concentrated on painting until he died in 1999 at the age of 87.

“I do not attempt to speak on behalf of the machines. Instead, I have tried to make them speak for themselves, through the graphic presentation of their elements, their operations and their use.“

The Face magazine became a pop culture mirror to the political and social turmoil in Britain during the 1980s. Its unconventional and thought-provoking designs and Neville Brody’s work redefined the British music press from the 1980s onwards and influenced a generation of designers. Even twenty-five years after he created them, Brody’s pages from The Face magazine are still remarkable designs. I’m still inspired by them every day.

The Face was a living laboratory where I could experiment and have it published. Our golden rule was to question everything.

—Neville Brody

Alexey Brodovitch’s knowledge of photography gave his work its classic feel. Brodovitch often cropped photographs in unexpected ways, and he placed them off-centre—sometimes bleeding them outside the margins of a page—to create compositions which were full of energy and movement.

“Surprise quality can be achieved in many ways. It may be produced by a certain stimulating geometrical relationship between elements in the picture, or through the human interest of the situation photographed, or by calling our attention to some commonplace but fascinating thing we have never noticed before, or it can be achieved by looking at an everyday thing in a new interesting way.”

—Alexey Brodovitch

Emmett McBain was an African American Graphic Designer who’s work highlighted themes of the African American community and helped bring a positive image of African Americans to the mainstream. He designed impactful advertising, during the Civil Rights era and a series of iconic album covers throughout the sixties and seventies. McBain’s acquaintance Bruce Bendinger said:

“In the life of an ad man, you can be well paid but you’ll likely do a lot of trivial work. Emmett did work that mattered.”

#blacklivesmatter

Herbert Matter was a Swiss-born American photographer and graphic designer known for his pioneering use of photo-montage in commercial art. His experimental work helped shape the vocabulary of 20th-century graphic design.

“If you love something, the work will be just fine.”

—Herbert Matter

Dan Friedman was an American graphic and furniture designer. He studied under Armin Hofmann at the Ulm School of Design and became a major contributor to the new wave typography movement. While working at Pentagram until 1984, Friedman designed letterheads, logos, and posters. Sadly, Friedman died of AIDS in 1995 in New York.

“Bridge the boundaries that separate us from other creative professions and unexpected possibilities”

—Dan Friedman

Erik Nitsche was born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1908 and was a pioneer in the design of books, reports, and other printed materials. In 1955, Nitsche began working as art director at engineering company General Dynamics where he designed a 420-page book on the company’s history entitled Dynamic America.

Nitsche paid meticulous attention to details of page composition, typography presentation, and the juxtaposition of design elements. His hallmarks were clarity, vibrant colors, smart typography, and geometric principles.

Lester Beall was an American modernist graphic designer. His modernist designs included bright, often primary, colours and he used bold lines shapes. He combined these graphic elements with photomontage to make covers and posters in a style which became his signature. While he is possibly best-known for his covers and posters, Beall also made designs for advertising, corporate identities, editorial, and packaging. Of Lester Beall, Herb Lubalin wrote:

Beall was responsible for taking American graphic design of the 1930s out of its mundane, tasteless form into the beginnings of what we know now as effective visual communication.

—Herb Lubalin

In a career which spanned over 40 years, Saul Bass not only designed some of America’s most iconic logos, but also designed title sequences and film posters for some of Hollywood’s best filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese. For Hitchcock, Bass created innovative title sequences for films including North by Northwest, Psycho, and Vertigo. The opening sequence of Mad Men—one of my favourite TV shows—pays homage to Bass who died in 1996 aged 75.

“I want everything we do to be beautiful. I don’t give a damn whether the client understands that that’s worth anything, or that the client thinks it’s worth anything, or whether it is worth anything. It’s worth it to me. It’s the way I want to live my life. I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.”

—Saul Bass

With his work on graphic design, logos, photos, and books spanning over sixty years, Ken Garland has made a significant contribution to graphic design since the mid-twentieth century. In 1964, Garland authored his book, First Things First Manifesto, which “which attempted to radicalize designers who were lazily serving the more dubious needs of consumerist culture. ⁽¹)”

“Accept a problem of visual communication that excites you; argue it out with your client; formulate a brief; change it if necessary; incorporate new discoveries if relevant; do it better next time (if there is a next time); do not try to please fellow-designers, only yourself and your clients (though by clients I often mean those to whom the visual information is directed).”

—Ken Garland

In a career which spanned over 40 years, Saul Bass not only designed some of America’s most iconic logos, but also designed title sequences and film posters for some of Hollywood’s best filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese. For Hitchcock, Bass created innovative title sequences for films including North by Northwest, Psycho, and Vertigo. The opening sequence of Mad Men—one of my favourite TV shows—pays homage to Bass who died in 1996 aged 75.

“I want everything we do to be beautiful. I don’t give a damn whether the client understands that that’s worth anything, or that the client thinks it’s worth anything, or whether it is worth anything. It’s worth it to me. It’s the way I want to live my life. I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.”

—Saul Bass

After WW2, Otl Aicher studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich and in 1947, he opened his own studio in Ulm, Germany. In 1953, he co-founded the influential Ulm School of Design. Aicher worked on corporate branding for Braun and Lufthansa and he considered a pioneer of corporate design. For the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Aicher created a set of pictograms meant to provide a visual interpretation of each sport. This influential signage helped athletes and visitors find their way around. Aicher died in 1991 and a Munich street is named after him.

Good art inspires; Good design motivates.

—Otl Aicher

With his work on graphic design, logos, photos, and books spanning over sixty years, Ken Garland has made a significant contribution to graphic design since the mid-twentieth century. In 1964, Garland authored his book, First Things First Manifesto, which “which attempted to radicalize designers who were lazily serving the more dubious needs of consumerist culture. ⁽¹)”

“Accept a problem of visual communication that excites you; argue it out with your client; formulate a brief; change it if necessary; incorporate new discoveries if relevant; do it better next time (if there is a next time); do not try to please fellow-designers, only yourself and your clients (though by clients I often mean those to whom the visual information is directed).”

—Ken Garland

Armin Hofmann is a Swiss graphic designer whose work is known for its abstract shapes and lines. Born in 1920 and now 99 years old, Hofmann first taught, then became head of the Basel School of Design. His work has been widely exhibited in major galleries, including the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Throughout his long career, Armin Hofmann designed posters in the Swiss International Style, in particular for the Basel Stadt Theater. He valued visual communication above everything else in design, used techniques including photo-montage, experimental compositions, and primarily sans-serif typography.

Born in Hungary in 1949, Tibor Kalman moved to New York to escape the Soviet invasion. In 1971, Kalman worked at the fledgling Barnes & Noble where he became creative director of their in-house design department. In 1979, Kalman opened his own studio with the goal of challenging mundane design thinking and creating unpredictable work. Kalman became founding editor-in-chief of Colors magazine—sponsored by Benetton—in 1991 which he later worked on exclusively. His book—Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist—was published the year of his death in 1999.

Before moving to Zurich in 1930, Max Bill studied at the Bauhaus where he was taught by, amongst others, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. Bill’s work is considered to be a decisive influence on Swiss graphic design from the 1950s. He was also a prolific industrial designer and designed clocks and watches for the German company Junghans. In 1944, Bill taught alongside Otl Aicher at the famous Ulm School of Design. Bill died in Switzerland in 1994 aged 85.

Born in Washington, D.C, Paula Scher is an American graphic designer, painter and educator. In 1991, she became the first female principal at design firm Pentagram. Inspired by Russian constructivism, Scher incorporated outmoded typefaces into her distinctive typographic style for work including advertising, books, brand identities, and packaging. She is well-known for identity work including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA,) The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and the Windows 8 logo for Microsoft.

Born near London, David King studied typography at the London School of Printing. It was at LSP that King was first exposed to Soviet Constructivist revolutionary graphics and political art. King worked in advertising agencies and then became the art editor of The Sunday Times from 1965 to 1975. In the 1970s, King created posters and graphics for many political groups, including the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the National Union of Journalists. He created the red-and-yellow arrow logo for the Anti-Nazi League and also designed posters for Rock Against Racism concerts and marches.

Born in Washington, D.C, Paula Scher is an American graphic designer, painter and educator. In 1991, she became the first female principal at design firm Pentagram. Inspired by Russian constructivism, Scher incorporated outmoded typefaces into her distinctive typographic style for work including advertising, books, brand identities, and packaging. She is well-known for identity work including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA,) The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and the Windows 8 logo for Microsoft.

In a career which spanned over 40 years, Saul Bass not only designed some of America’s most iconic logos, but also designed title sequences and film posters for some of Hollywood’s best filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese. For Hitchcock, Bass created innovative title sequences for films including North by Northwest, Psycho, and Vertigo. The opening sequence of Mad Men—one of my favourite TV shows—pays homage to Bass who died in 1996 aged 75.

“I want everything we do to be beautiful. I don’t give a damn whether the client understands that that’s worth anything, or that the client thinks it’s worth anything, or whether it is worth anything. It’s worth it to me. It’s the way I want to live my life. I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.”

—Saul Bass

Milton Glaser was born in 1929 in The Bronx, New York City and throughout his career, he personally designed and illustrated more than 400 posters including a famous psychedelic poster of Bob Dylan. The poster, for Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, was one of Glaser’s first posters. One of Milton Glaser’s other famous works is his “I Love New York” logo which he designed in 1977. His logo is now a pop culture icon and can be seen everywhere in New York City.

“I do not want to say I’m a product designer. I’ve been trying all my life to not be categorized, to learn something and then to forget about it.”

—Milton Glaser

Born near London, David King studied typography at the London School of Printing. It was at LSP that King was first exposed to Soviet Constructivist revolutionary graphics and political art. King worked in advertising agencies and then became the art editor of The Sunday Times from 1965 to 1975. In the 1970s, King created posters and graphics for many political groups, including the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the National Union of Journalists. He created the red-and-yellow arrow logo for the Anti-Nazi League and also designed posters for Rock Against Racism concerts and marches.