Josef Müller-Brockmann: Pioneer of Swiss graphic design.

All of my designer readers most likely carry on a rather intimate relationship with Josef Müller-Brockmann. But, for those of you who aren’t so lucky, allow me to make the necessary introductions. Born in Rapperswil, Switzerland in 1914, Müller-Brockmann would later go on to become known as the Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design. As explained in Eye Magazine:

By the 1950s [Müller-Brockmann] was established as the leading practitioner and theorist of the Swiss Style, which sought a universal graphic expression through a grid-based design purged of extraneous illustration and subjective feeling.

JM-B did an interview with Eye Magazine for their Winter 1995 issue,  just one year prior to his passing. In the interview, the innovative Swiss designer was asked what order meant to him:

Order was always wishful thinking for me. For 60 years I have produced disorder in files, correspondence and books. In my work, however, I have always aspired to a distinct arrangement of typographic and pictorial elements, the clear identification of priorities. The formal organisation of the surface by means of the grid, a knowledge of the rules that govern legibility (line length, word and letter spacing and so on) and the meaningful use of colour are among the tools a designer must master in order to complete his or her task in a rational and economic manner.

The grid, the prioritization and arrangement of typographic and pictorial elements, the meaningful use of color… Observe the Swiss mastery below:

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Albert Exergian’s minimalist TV posters

rt director and designer Albert Exergian creates some brilliant designs, and his minimalist TV posters have made the blog rounds lately. But I’m not sure if I’ll ever get tired of them gracing my screen. And I just came across a couple more that I had never seen (the Columbo one is watching me like a hawk), so I thought I’d go ahead and post some of my favorites here, just in case you hadn’t been properly introduced.

You can find the entire collection over at Blanka HERE, or over at Exergian’s own Tumblr page HERE.

A couple other Exergian poster designs:

Visit Albert Exergian’s website HERE.

(Initial “A” found HERE)

New Vintage Type

s usual, I’m a little slow. Thus, my recent discovery (“recent” as in “5 minutes ago”) of New Vintage Type, a mouthwatering collection of type designs that sort of make me foam at the mouth. In a good way. The book, compiled and edited by designer greats Steven Heller and Gail Anderson, apparently came out in 2007. Like I said, I’m slow. But, just in case you’d forgotten about it, or in case you’d never heard of it, here you go. Personally, I’m a little bummed I didn’t “recently discover” this in time to chuck it onto my Christmas list. Do people give New Year’s gifts?

All images below graciously borrowed from Print & Pattern, but you can purchase New Vintage Type HERE.

Let’s go on an excursion!

oving these vintage Portuguese transportation ads — particularly the awesome lettering, which I found over at Dias que Voam, which you should visit PRONTO.

The majuscule letters (do we say that in English? for capital letters?) at the bottom of the first ad above kind of remind me of the style of lettering I used for lettering the names on my last round of family tree orders (finally shipped!):

Sunday one day

Just one image for you to drool over and keep you warm on this, my grading-filled December Sunday…

This is a 1965 Dutch poster designed by Dick Effers to celebrate Dutch Liberation Day on May 5th. The inscription reads “Make it a party.” {SOURCE}

Swedish sweetness

t’s finally snowing in Boston. It was 70 degrees here on Thursday. Very anti-Decemberish. So, I’m extremely excited to see the white fluff whisping around outside and even sticking on the ground. I’m about to go celebrate with a fresh mug of hot chocolate and mini-marshmallows. But first, I want to share some fun Swedish finds with you… they’ll keep you happy and warm this Saturday evening, whether yours is snowy or not. 🙂

Vintage book covers and ads straight from David at the Klockarp Institute:

Pan Tu Nie Stał

Pan tu nie stał, meaning You Were Not Standing Here, is a Polish design blog created by sociologist Justyna Burzyńska and graphic designer Maciej Lebiedowicz, who are heavily inspired by vintage Polish designs from the 1930s onward. But that’s not all: they also have a shop by the same name, which features clothing, home decor, accessories, and paper products. Oh, and did I mention that they ROCK?

Just look:

All of the beautifully vibrant and inspiring images above are borrowed from their blog, which you can access (along with their shop) HERE.

Vee-oh-let.

And some other colors, too. And they all form these stellar typographic designs that make me happy. So I wanted to share.

(images found courtesy of the always-inspirational WeLoveTypography.com)