Category: Design Legends

ISTD Lecture – Wim Crouwel

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For all you lucky folks in the UK, there’s going to be a lecture tonight with Wim Crouwel. I’d love to go to this. Someone needs to get this guy to NYC! Anyway, here are the details:

The International Society of Typographic Designers is pleased to announce the return or their acclaimed lecture series. The first of which on the 3 June will be Wim Crouwel. The Dutch legend will be introduced by 8vo’s Hamish Muir, who will talk about the studio’s work that was commissioned by Crouwel when he was director of the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen (1989 — 1994).

Crouwel’s lecture, Designer and Client, will take place at the The Royal College of Physicians’ Wolfson Lecture Theatre, 11 St Andrews Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4LE (19.00 — 21.30).

Tickets are limited, likely to sell out quickly and are only available in advance from istd.org.uk/wim-crouwel. £16 (£12 for ISTD members, £10 for students)

Attendees will be invited to celebrate the ISTD’s 80th birthday with a complimentary drink in the Dorchester Library after the lecture.
Tickets also include entry to a raffle for the chance to win a very special prize which will be presented by Crouwel himself.        

Otl Aicher and the 1972 Munich Olympics

Posted on Posted in Books, Design, Design Legends, Events, Grid Systems, International Typographic StyleTagged , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments

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When it comes to my top three most influential designers of all time, the list includes Josef Muller-Brockmann, Wim Crouwel, and Otl Aicher.

Otl Aicher is a legendary designer and one of the most influential graphic designers of the 20th Century. He’s responsible for many incredible designs, but he’s most famous for the work he did for the 1972 Munich Olympics. He created a beautiful and elegant design system on top of a functional grid system for the entire games that covered all visual aspects including posters, books, catalogues, flags, mascots, medals, tickets and stationery.

To honor all this work and to create an ongoing collection, this site was created. The collection includes pieces that span the entire visual identity for the games, many of which I’ve never seen before.

A few months ago an exhibit was held in San Jose California that focused on all the work done by Aicher for the games. What I would have done to have been able to see it in person. If you’re one of the unlucky souls who wasn’t able to visit, there is a Flickr set of the exhibit.

Recently, I’ve become obsessed with obtaining items from the games. Considering that the Olympics happened in the 70’s and it’s become pretty popular among the design community, most of it is hard to find and expensive. I’ve managed to get my hands on a few things, which I’ll be photographing and adding to my Flickr page very soon, but my “holy grail” is Die Spiele (The Games), a 3 volume set covering the design, execution and usage of the entire visual identity for the games. It’s a damn gold mine! I’ve seen it on ebay only 3 times in the last year and all 3 times I’ve lost the auction because the price went too high. I’ll get a set one day. Anyway, here is a nice Flickr set showing the interior pages of Die Spiele. Get a bib because you’re going to drool.

The image above is the from the excellent Blanka Flickr set. You can also see more juicy stuff here and here and in the Otl Aicher Group.        

The Brilliant Work of Jean Widmer

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I have no clue how I’ve never heard of Jean Widmer. I’m disappointed in myself but I’m also giddy from the discovery! This morning I came across this brief article over at Grain Edit that includes some of Widmer’s work. I was instantly blown away and had to know more about this talented designer. I spent most of the morning researching Widmer and his work. Here’s what I’ve found.

Jean Widmer is a Swiss graphic designer who is responsible from introducing Swiss modernism into French graphic design and who eventually became a leader of the graphic design community in France for more than 40 years. Up until recently Widmer ran an agency in France called Visuel Design.

Unfortunately, much of his work is very difficult to find, online or in print. Pictured above are posters he designed for the Centre de Creation Industrielle which are just breathtaking. A few years back there was an massive exhibition of Widmer’s work at the Centre Pompidou in France. You can see some photos of the event here, here and here.

There was also an exhibit at the Herb Lubalin Study Centre of Design and Typography at Cooper Union in New York that was held from Autumn 2002 to 2003. The exhibition, “Jean Widmer, a devotion to modernism, itinerary of a designer from Zurich to Paris” featured a large collection of Widmer’s work and was accompanied by a 96 page catalogue. Gotta see if I can get my hands on that one. Anyway, here is a small gallery of the Cooper Union exhibit.

And finally, here is an interview with Widmer conducted by Graphis. Apparently Josef Müller-Brockmann was a big influence on him. Nice!        

Die Neue Gesellschaft

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I’ve been searching for months and months now for a single copy of Die Neue Gesellschaft, a political magazine that was art directed by Helmut Schmid, but they seem to be extremely rare. I was able to get in touch with some people who curate Schmid’s work and they sent over some original scans of the covers which are just gorgeous. I’m trying to get them to send over more but they haven’t replied to me in a while. In the meantime drool over these. This design was first used in 1974 with issue #7 and remained in use until 1981.

Honestly, I would pay good money for a complete set of these. I’m so obsessed with them.