Canadian Design blog post

Burton Kramer is a graphic designer who was born in Bronx, New York in 1932 during the Great Depression and would later moved to Switzerland and finally in Canada. In high school, Kramer became interested in art and sculpting and quickly decided to pursue a career in art and design. In 1950, he attended the Industrial Arts Program of New York State University but later moved to Chicago’s avant-garde Institute of Design. His time in Chicago would introduce Kramer to the Bauhaus style of design(since Chicago’s school was nicknamed as the ‘New Bauhaus’) and would make Kramer later move to Yale’s graphic design program for one year. Kramer moved to the UK at the Royal College of Art and finally returned to Yale to finish his Masters of Fine Arts degree in graphic design in 1957. Kramer started to work at Will Burton Office in New York where he worked for an installation of a Cell exhibition for a pharmaceutical company at a convention and redesigning the architectural magazine called “The Architectural Record” where he worked as an art director. Kramer also worked as an art director at New York Life Insurance Company and in 1960, he worked for the advertising department of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Geigy. After two years, he moved to Zurich, Switzerland to work for a design agency Erwin Halpern Advertising as chief designer. His work there made Kramer won awards for his poster and packaging design. In 1965, Kramer moved to Toronto, a city known for its modernist environment. He worked as an art director at one of Canada’s famous design agencies called Paul Arthur & Associates and later for stereo and colour TV manufacturer Corporate Design for Clairtone. Eventually, Kramer decided to form his own agency focused on corporate identity called Burton Kramer & Associated Ltd. His major clients included Ontario Educational Communications Authority, Radio Canada International, Royal Ontario Museum, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1974, he became a full Canadian citizen and became a member at the prestigious AGI. From 1980 to 2001, he taught corporate brand and identity at Ontario College of Art and Design. He has also taught in the US and Mexico as well as publishing magazines and essays about design. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Arts Toronto in 1999 and an honorary doctorate from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2002. Kramer has been seen as an influential figure in Canadian design thanks to his ability to develop an International style with a distinct Canadian look. Kramer is currently still alive and has retired from graphic design to focus on abstract painting.

I think Kramer’s style is unique in its own way. He has the clear influence from the Swiss and Bauhaus style of simplistic design but he has also added his own touch by adding more of an abstract feel. He does this by adding more variety of colour, shapes, lines, and sizes which gives the design have a progression and distinct style.