The New York School

As I have already tackled in the previous blog, when Europeans moved to America in order to escape political totalitarianism, they brought along the avant-garde style with them.  Americans were influenced by these worked and added to their principles creating a new approach to American design.  This new approach was less formal when it comes to organizing space.  Perhaps the most influential American Designers that worked during that time were Paul Rand and Saul Bass.

Paul Rand

Saul Bass

Paul Rand Cover for Direction
Magazine

Paul Rand was one of the first graphic designers that utilized this American approach to modern design.  Rand was very much influenced by Klee, Kandinsky the cubists, as well as Moholy Nagy’s book ‘The New Vision’. His work was very clear, legible and without excessive decoration which reflected the modern Tschichold legacy. Furthermore, Rand disregarded traditional narrative illustrator and substituted symmetrical layouts with asymmetrical ones. A genius in finding new and innovative ways in order to make use of different visual forms such as space; shape, value, colour, line. He is also known as the designer of lyrical beauty. His works were mostly logos and trade mark. In the direction magazine cover, Rand put across an image of a Christmas gift enfolded with barbed wire with a small card at the side with the words ‘Merry Christmas’ written on itby hand which contrasts greatly with the mechanical stencil lettering of the logo. Contrasting the white in the background, there are dots in red which may represent splattered blood.  Rand was well aware of the power of symbols and signs and so he utilized them in his work in order to visually put across a message to the viewers. In this cover he is reminding the viewers of the spread of global war. The colors used reflect the influence of constructivism – red. It is a very interesting and intelligent design. Paul Rand has inspired many contemporary designers including Henry Steiner which was also his student. 

Left: Original EF logo by Paul Rand
Right: New logo by Henry Steiner (2007)

Saul Bass brought the principles of the New York School to Los Angeles. Paul Rand`s work very much influenced Saul Bass especially the use of shape and asymmetrical layouts, however, Bass used a single dominant image set in space. In his work, Bass often cut out irregular shapes with a scissors or painted with a brush. Letterforms were freely drawn which was combined with handwriting and typography.   Saul Bass`s title sequences and promotional pieces for films are perhaps the most well known works produced. The first design that combined media graphics and print for film was for ‘The Man with the Golden arm’.  The movie was about drug addiction which is represented as bold pictorial arm which is forming a rectangle. There is a great use of flat block of colours. This poster was very innovative at that time and it is still interesting to see today. The title sequence was also very innovative. After a white bar moves across the screen three more bars follow. When all four are in centre part of the screen, typography with the names of the performance appears. Had it not been for Saul Bass, title sequences would have not been as they are today. Bass also produced corporate Identity logos for companies such as the United airlines, Quaker Oats and Warner communications.

The man with the golden arm
movie poster

The man with the golden arm title sequence

Greenday 'American Idiot
album cover (2004)

Bass has inspired many other contemporary artists including Chris Bilheimer, the person who had created the album cover for ‘American Idiot’ by Greenday. When one looks at the cover one can immediately notice Saul Bass`s influence. In addition he has also inspired people like Leo Burnett that has created works for a blood donation campaign in the same style as Bass.

Work By Leo Burnett

Work by Leo Burnett

I have found these works quite astonishing and captivating. I also found it facilitating the extent to which these artist still influence others today. I very much like the flatness in Saul Bass`s work and how he plays around with geometrical shapes. I also loved the way these artist use space.
References:

Philip B. Meggs, 2011. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. 5 Edition. Wiley.

Moving to America

Alexander Liberman , Vogue Cover 1945.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s graphic design in America was still very much intact with traditional illustrations so much so, that when European graphic designers started to migrate to America, there was commotion and people started to protest.  These new principles were not accepted until the late 1930s when they were slowly being introduced and seen in editorial designs, book covers as well as commercial graphics. The artists that brought these new ideas and the ideas themselves contributed greatly to the development of graphic design within America. Among these artist there were the Russian-born artists Erte, Dr Mehemed Fehmy Agha , Alexey Brodovitch and Alexander Liberman. These artists worked mainly on editorial design for fashion magazines.

Erte is well known for his work with Harper`s Bazaar magazine. After becoming a well-known illustrator and set designer in Paris, he went to work for the magazine. His style was quite art deco along with stylized drawings which are influenced from synthetic cubism, exotic ornaments and sophistication of high fashion. Erte is actually sometimes called ‘Father of Art Deco’. Furthermore, his cover art reflect greatly his love for colour and glamour. Erte not only designed covers but he also did fashion designs and set designs for theater.

Harper's Bazaar magazine
by Erte.

Erte`s shoe design for
Delman`s shoes/

Dr Mehemed Fehmy Agha  Vogue
cover

Whist Dr Mehemed Fehmy Agha was an art director for Vogue`s magazine, he introduced new principles that are still used to date such as bleed photography, double page spreads, machine set sans-serif typography, the use of white space as well as asymmetrical layouts. Furthermore Fehmy Agha removed the use of italic type. He also worked with vanity fair were his works reflected influences form European modernism.  He created a very energetic and lively spread by using the spread as if it was a canvas. The way he used simplified type, the use of margins , the placement of images and white space all helped in order to create a very intriguing and at that time innovative design. It is because of the way he designed magazines during that time and his avant- garde style that we have magazines as we know them today, especially the use of a double page spread.

Dr Mehemed Fehmy Agha Vanity Fair
spread

Vogue Double page Spread.

Alexey Brodovitch`s Bazaar magazine
cover.

Alexey Brodovitch on the other hand was the art director of Harper`s bazaar. Brodovitch was also very much fascinated with white space. Furthermore in his works, he utilized sharp typography on clear, open pages changing the way to approach editorial design.Megg`s in his book states that Brodovitch looked for a ‘musical feeling’ through the flow of text and images. Contrast was an important tool in his works along with the movement in each spread. He also revolutionized the way we crop, expand and combine the images in a spread. Brodovitch`s work very much influenced American magazine designs as well as artists that came afterwards such as Henry wolf and Otto Storch.

Alexey Brodovitch Magazine Spread

Otto Storch Magazine Spread

Bazaar spread 2013

I personally find these works extremely interesting especially the magazine spread by Alexey Brodovitch. I found it very intriguing the way the text reflects the image. I have also found it very interesting the way Storch plays with the white space and how he placed the text.
References:

Philip B. Meggs, 2011. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. 5 Edition. Wiley.

The Erté Years - 1915-36 - 140 Years of Bazaar - Harper's BAZAAR Magazine. 2014. The Erté Years - 1915-36 - 140 Years of Bazaar - Harper's BAZAAR Magazine. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/bazaar-140-0307. [Accessed 29 November 2014].

First Art Director - Mehemed Fehmy Agha | Magazine Designing. 2014. First Art Director - Mehemed Fehmy Agha | Magazine Designing. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.magazinedesigning.com/mehemed-fehmy-agha-first-art-director/. [Accessed 29 November 2014].

The Art Directors Who Came From Europe. 2014. The Art Directors Who Came From Europe. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.designhistory.org/Advertising_pages/ArtDirector.html. [Accessed 29 November 2014].