JOSEF MÜLLER-BROCKMANN: USE THE GRID
The work and writing of Max Bill, an architect and designer who studied at the
Bauhaus, influenced Josef Müller-Brockmann and led him away from his illustrative
beginnings. Bill developed Theo van Doesburg’s idea of a universal visual language
by using a modular grid--the underlying framework of columns and margins that
guides the placement of text and images in a layout. It provides order, consistency,
and flexibility, and helps to establish hierarchy. It continues to be an important tool
today, especially in web design.
This grid-based approach to graphic design became the foundation of the International
Typographic Style, or Swiss Style, and Müller-Brockmann was a key figure in this
influential movement. He stripped extraneous decoration from his design; every
element in his layout had a purpose. Over time, his work grew increasingly abstract.
For example, he designed a series of concert posters for Zurich’s Tonhalle. There
were no music notes or instruments. Geometric shapes and lines were placed on the
grid, but were varied in position and scale to suggest movement and rhythm. The
result was abstract, yet very musical.
IVAN CHERMAYEFF AND TOM GEISMAR:
DON’T LIMIT YOURSELF TO ONE STYLE
In 1960, Chermayeff and Geismar proposed a radical idea:
a corporate logo, for Chase Manhattan Bank, that was not
based on letterforms or a recognizable image. Their design
was simple--four wedges rotated around a square to form
an octagon--but it was met with resistance, because at that
time no major American corporation had an abstract logo.
And that’s precisely why it worked; it stood out from the
competition and became an identifying symbol inextricably
associated with Chase. Soon, other corporations followed
suit with abstract logos of their own.
DESIGN IS SOLVING PROBLEMS. PURSUE THE
BEST SOLUTION, REGARDLESS OF FORM.
But Chermayeff and Geismar haven’t limited themselves
to a particular style. For them, design is solving problems,
and they pursue the best solution, regardless of form.
They’ve designed more than 100 corporate identities, for
clients such as NBC, PBS, Screen Gems, Barneys New York,
Boston’s MBTA, and Pan Am. They also create digital media
and exhibitions, at venues like the well-known Ellis Island
Immigration Museum and the John F. Kennedy Library. Now
called Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, their strength is in
their ideas, and they continue solving problems.
MURIEL COOPER:
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
Muriel Cooper had two design careers: first as a print
designer and second as a groundbreaking digital designer.
As art director for MIT Press, she designed classic books, such
as Hans Wingler’s Bauhaus, and the first edition of Learning
from Las Vegas (authors Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown
and Steven Izenour hated what she did, but many graphic
designers loved it).
Cooper took her first computer class at MIT in 1967, and
it bewildered her. However, she could see the computer’s
potential in the creative process, and soon began the second
phase of her career: applying her design skills to computer
screens. With Ron MacNeil, Cooper cofounded the research
group Visible Language Workshop in 1975, which later
became part of MIT’s Media Lab. She presented the group’s
research at the influential TED5 (Technology, Entertainment,
Design) conference in 1994. For the first time, computer
graphics were shown in three transparent dimensions, which
moved, changed sizes, and shifted focus, instead of the
standard Windows interface of opaque panels stacked like
cards. She made a big impact: Even Microsoft founder Bill
Gates was interested in her work. Unfortunately, she died
soon after of a heart attack, but her legacy in interactive
design continues.