Category: 142R

The Memphis Group

In 1980, Ettore Sottsass, an Italian designer and architect, decided that it was the time to create a new design style. To go against the grain and create something that many might initially perceive as ridiculous. Sottsass, however, did not do this alone. the whole idea of this was to collectively create something new, so he joined forces with other designers and architects to form the Memphis group. A name derived from the song they listened to on repeat during their first meeting: Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, by Bob Dylan. Three months later, they presented each other with hundreds of ideas and settled on the groundbreaking style that became known as the Memphis Movement.

They combined colours that would have previously been unheard of together, mixed patterns and geometric shapes. They used brightly coloured plastic laminate and interesting materials, while creating objects and furniture to be decorative over functional. All these factors contributed to them making a name for themselves.

There was rejection and thoughts that this was merely a fad, but after a long time of being overlooked, this style inspires many including the fashion industry, and is beloved today by most. I personally appreciate the Memphis Movement because the group took a chance and did not follow the status quo. I think their work is vibrant and fun and I am surely inspired by its boldness and risk.

Sources:

https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-memphis-design/

https://designmuseum.org/discover-design/all-stories/memphis-group-awful-or-awesome

Douglas Coupland

Douglas Coupland is a writer, graphic designer, and artist and is widely regarded as the most original observer on current American culture. He also popularized the term Generation X. 

He was born on a Canadian military base in Germany but grew up in Vancouver. In 1984, he attended Emily Carr University of Art and design to become a sculptor, but then moved to Japan to do Japanese business sciences. After that, he returned to Canada and in 1991, published his first novel called Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. The novel became so popular that the Americans born during the 1960s and 70s became regarded as Generation X.

In addition to this book, he wrote many others that were successful. In regard to his art, he is exhibited across north America and Europe. He creates beautiful, colourful work that is often about popular culture and how the technological revolution effects our minds. He creates work from paintings, prints, and sculptures, to public interactive pieces.

I think his work is intriguing and wonderful to look at. I also love the meaning behind it, as the technological revolution is so relevant and it can resonate with many.  

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Douglas-Coupland

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/douglas-couplandhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/douglas-coupland

Helmut Krone

Helmut Krone was a respectable advertising art director born in New York, 1925. He was part of a campaign that changed advertising. Inspired by Paul Rand, he went into print advertising and later became an Art Director at the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency. He worked there for over 30 years creating innovative campaigns and surprising sales pitches. He was a perfectionist and even though his work was relatively simple he spent many hours refining every detail; I can relate to this.

DDB was already promoting Volkswagen to a local car dealer and they had put Krone as the leader. Apparently, krone was very difficult to work with and was unhappy with many of the decisions, such as “think small”, however, he worked with others and settled on a composition that became one of the many successful Volkswagen advertisements. He also decided to put the logo in an unusual spot, which sets his work apart from others.

His goal was always to create something different than what his peers were creating. He received many awards during his career and was showcased in the One Club’s Creative Hall of Fame and the Art Directors Hall of Fame.

Sources:

https://medium.com/theagency/the-ad-that-changed-advertising-18291a67488c

Paula Scher

Paula Scher was an extremely influential graphic designer. Beginning in the 1970s her career took off by being an art director. She also worked in the promotion and advertisement department of CBS Records.

After working there for 8 years, she created over 150 album covers each year. She earned 4 Grammy nominations for her album covers including: Ginseng Woman by Eric Gale, H and One on One by Bob James and Boston by Boston. 

In 1991 she became partners with the New York office of Pentagram. She eventually got a job as a teacher at the School of Visual Arts for over 20 years and taught occasionally at Yale University, Tyler School of Art and Cooper Union.

Her work has been represented all over the world, for example in the permanent collections of the MoMA, museums in London, Germany, and Paris. There is also a Netflix documentary which Scher is featured in called “Abstract: The Art of Design”.  

I think Paula Scher is a brilliant designer and creative director. She had a very successful career and I adore her drive and use of typography. 

Sources:

https://www.pentagram.com/about/paula-scher

Paula Scher

Peter Max

Peter Max is an illustrator and graphic artist who became well recognized during the 1960s. His work is known for an incredible use of colour, where one colour pallet is continuously used throughout his work. He often uses psychedelic shapes and generally specializes in Pop Art and Neo-Expressionism.  

            In 1937, Max was born in Germany, however, he and his family moved to China, Israel, and France, finally settling in New York in 1953. Max studied art at the Art Students League of New York and later started an art studio with his friend Tom Daly which they called “The Daly & Max Studio”.  

            Max has designed ad campaigns for 7-Up and Chrysler, and he has also painted for six US presidents, for example his painting 44 Obamas debuted on The Early Show. He painted for celebrities, politicians, and athletes as well. Max was the official artist for the Grammy Awards, the World Cup in 1994, and the Super Bowl.

There have also been constant claims that Max worked on The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”, however, this was said to be false by the production team. I was initially drawn to Max’s work because of how closely his style resembles the Beatles illustrations, however, I love how playful his art is and I enjoy his colour pallet and creativity. 

Sources:

http://www.artnet.com/artists/peter-max/

http://www.artnet.com/artists/peter-max/biography

Peter Max