Tag: design legend

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

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

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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!        

Jacqueline S. Casey

Posted on Posted in Design, Design Legends, TypographyTagged , , , , , , , 8 Comments

Jacqueline Casey

The Rochester Institute of Technology has an excellent collection of posters and record covers designed by Jacqueline S. Casey, who worked as a graphic designer for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1963 to 1990. Unfortunately Jacqueline Casey died in 1992 at the age of 65 but she has left and beautiful collection of designs that we can all admire and enjoy.

The work in this collection is absolutely brilliant. I love her simplicity and her play with typography.

A book was also created in 1992 to coincide with this collection called Posters: Jacqueline S. Casey, Thirty Years of Design at MIT. The book is wonderful and features full descriptions and color reproductions of her work. It’s very rare and almost impossible to find, trust me I’m still looking. If you’re lucky to find one be prepared to dropped $250 for it.        

Peter Seitz: Designing a Life

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Peter Seitz: Designing a Life

Along with Brockmann, Crouwel and Aicher, Seitz is one of my biggest influences. His work has influenced many and is considered to be some of the best of our time. Design Observer has a great article on Seitz by Andrew Blauvelt, who also designed a book with Ryan Nelson called Peter Seitz: Designing a Life, a book featuring his work for the Walker Art Center. You can read about the making of the book on Ryan’s site and you can purchase the book from the Walker Art Center bookshop.