Freya Emery

Allan Fleming

Allan Fleming, a Canadian Designer, born in Toronto Ontario in 1929 to a family of Scottish immigrants. At a very young age, Allan was hospitalized due to an ear infection that would later cause permanent hearing loss in his right ear which would cause never-ending trauma. From 1943 to 1945 Allan attended the Western Technical Collegiate where he was introduced to design which would be his life passion. After Graduating Allan would work at the advertising firm Art and Design Service, where he would be involved with clients such as Ford, Helena Rubenstein, and Kaiser-Frazer. But then later in 1951 Allen would be relocated to England where he studied letterforms and the design of type and books.

After working for big names such as Lewis Parker and Cooper & Beatty Typesetters, Allan would be commissioned the job that changed his life, to design the Canadian National Railways’ new logo. The resulting logo, launched in 1960, is still in use today and acclaimed as one of the top 50 corporate logos of all time. For the rest of Allan’s life, he would go on to designing for big companies such as Scotiabank, Ontario Hydro, and many many more.

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon

Known as an American landscape architect, graphic designer, and interior Supergraphics, Barbara Stauffacher Solomon is one to inspire many. Born in 1928 in San Francisco, Barbara was a born artist. Later she would marry into the Stauffacher family where her brother-in-law, Jack Stauffacher, a well-known designer, and printmaker, would help guide her in the direction of her dreams. Once moving to Basel, Switzerland in 1956, after her husband’s passing, Barbra decided to continue her education by studying graphic design because she needed to make a living and support not only herself but also her child. 

Later in 1962, Barbra returned to her hometown, San Francisco, where she would then meet Lawrence Halprin, an American Landscape Architect and Designer, who would give her work at Sea Ranch to design large-scale paintings for the building’s interiors. This is the moment known to have kick-started her career. Barbara then received numerous awards, teaching at Harvard and Yale University while creating fantastic supergraphics and working on projects that she was immensely passionate about. 

I am incredibly interested in Barbara’s works not only because of her artistic ability and passion but also I am super interested in murals and the act of painting them. I had the honor of painting three of them in the past, and I would be lying if I said Barbara wasn’t an inspiration of mine. 

Waldemar Świerzy

Waldemar Świerzy, a Polish artist and one of the Polish School of Posters’ co-founders, was born in Katowice, Poland, in 1931, and continues to amaze us even after his passing in 2013. Świerzy is most known for his film poster design along with his band posters, which featured artists like Jimmi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and many others. Throughout Świerzy’s career you can see plakatstil influence along with pop culture, art nouveau, with strong bold colors and very original imagery.

Although Waldemar Świerzy is not known as a psychedelic artist, his artistic style is very similar, with bright, vibrant colors mixed with creative typography. Świerzy is known to play with mediums within his work, mostly paints, such as gouache and acrylics. There is a very organic and natural feel to his pieces, and some look almost like a photograph, where others look cartoony and creative. I find his work fascinating and creative, and he has inspired me to look to traditional art when it comes to poster design rather than going to my computer and booting up Adobe Illustrator.