Hasta La Ideas

If the Academy doled out little golden men in the category of Best Movie Poster, Bill Gold would have hundreds. The legendary graphic designer (and Pratt Institute alum), who turned 92 last month, created posters for films ranging from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1941) to J. Edgar (2011), which he came out of retirement to design at the request of his old friend Clint Eastwood. The posters for Casablanca, A Clockwork Orange, Alien, The Exorcist? All pure Gold. He recently did his part to celebrate the achievements of another notable nonagenarian: Warner Bros. As part of a 90th anniversary celebration that will span all of 2013, the studio invited Gold to create a poster of posters. You can find it, along with art cards featuring his movie poster designs, in two new megacollections of Warner Bros. films: 100 films on DVD and 50 films on Blu-ray. Gold recently made time between Oscar screeners (he’s a member of the Academy and has watched some sixty films since November) to discuss posters past and present, and some highlights of his seven-decade career.

1. One of your first assignments at Warner Bros. was designing the poster for Casablanca. How did you approach this project, and what did you seek to create/convey with the poster?
I approached this project like I would any other. I was a young art director that was given an assignment. This was one of my first posters. My initial thoughts were to put together a montage showing all the characters depicted in the film. They appeared to be an interesting ensemble of notable characters.

Something was missing, however. And I was asked to add some more ‘excitement’ to the scene. I added the gun in Bogart’s hand, and the poster suddenly came alive with intrigue.

2. If you had to choose a poster of which you are most proud, what would it be?
The Unforgiven teaser poster. Because of the simplicity of the. The setting was appropriately dark, and the image of the gun more than provocative. It wasn’t the typical image that you’d see on a poster.

3. Of the more than 2,000 posters you’ve worked on, which one would you describe as the most challenging to design?
Bird was one of the most challenging posters I worked on–mainly because I was told not to depict it as a “jazz” movie, but rather to emphasize the more human aspects of the life of a musician. The studio was trying to promote the film as more of a ‘family’ movie. So I worked on several comps of Charlie Parker and his wife, along with his kids. But I still felt the story was primarily about this wonderful jazz musician; so I did one comp of him alone playing his sax and we dramatized how he played his whole life in a very dramatic way. As soon as Clint [Eastwood] saw it, he said, “That’s the one!” It went on to win several awards, and is also one of my favorites.
continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

London’s annual design trade event, 100% Design, is under new ownership and has commissioned a new identity. However, when studios Thomas.Matthews and also Form pitched similar concepts, owners Media 10 asked both teams to join forces…

“In our original presentation to the 100% team, both ourselves and Thomas.Matthews coincidentally showed a similar concept around the theme of balance,” explains Form’s Paula Benson. “Media Ten saw strengths in both our ideas asked us to collaborate on the project,” she continues.

“Our role at Form has been to design and create the lead imagery/messaging for the marketing communications, which will then in turn feed into the work Thomas.Mathews are creating for the show itself.”

With Thomas.Matthews working on various aspects of the enormous exhibition’s design (last year’s event, held at Earl’s Court, saw over 25,000 visitors over four days), Form commissioned photographer Sara Morris and stylist Sandy Suffield to create the carefully balanced arrangements of objects that appear in the new posters for the event planned for September this year.

“We’ve created a set of bold images which capture the scale, variety and diversity of the show in a friendly but quirky way,” says Benson of the work which was all shot in-camera. “Despite all the hard work and head-scratching to make the stacks work, the result is grand with a hint of cheekiness. We wanted to avoid cold, stark product shots so introduced a new colourful palette which is reflected in the photographs and which will be incorporated across the whole marketing and on-site expression.”

The images created will appear in various aspects of the campaign in print, online and in printed event programmes. “Our approach to the copy and typography as to simplify everything to create a quietly confident message,” Benson continues, “avoiding the long descriptive paragraphs and clumsy straplines often prevalent in event and exhibition promotion.”

100% Design will take place at Earls Court in London from 18-21 September. More info at 100percentdesign.co.uk

CR in print
The March issue of CR magazine celebrates 150 years of the London Underground. In it we introduce a new book by Mark Ovenden, which is the first study of all aspects of the tube’s design evolution; we ask Harry Beck authority, Ken Garland, what he makes of a new tube map concept by Mark Noad; we investigate the enduring appeal of Edward Johnston’s eponymous typeface; Michael Evamy reports on the design story of world-famous roundel; we look at the London Transport Museum’s new exhibition of 150 key posters from its archive; we explore the rich history of platform art, and also the Underground’s communications and advertising, past and present. Plus, we talk to London Transport Museum’s head of trading about TfL’s approach to brand licensing and merchandising. In Crit, Rick Poynor reviews Branding Terror, a book about terrorist logos, while Paul Belford looks at how a 1980 ad managed to do away with everything bar a product demo. Finally, Daniel Benneworth-Grey reflects on the merits on working home alone. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month.

The history of the London Underground is the history of visual communications. We celebrate 150 years of the tube in CR March, where you can read about the evolution of the world-famous roundel, the Underground’s own instantly recognisable typeface, its long tradition of great posters, platform art, maps, merch and more…

Our cover is by Robert Samuel Hanson – we asked him to imagine the London cityscape 150 years hence. The idea was inspired by Montague B Black’s fantastic Underground poster from 1926, This Is All In The Air, a vision of what London might look like in 2026 (and featured on our contents page).

As for the features, Mark Sinclair’s opening piece introduces a new book from Mark Ovenden, London Underground by Design (Penguin), the first study to comprehensively examine all aspects of the tube’s design evolution, from architecture and signage, to lettering and logos.

Next, writer, blogger and public transport devotee, Ian Jones (author of 150greatthingsabouttheunderground.com), selects ten interesting things for CR readers to look out for on the Underground network on a design-spotting day out.

And Mark Sinclair asks Harry Beck authority Ken Garland what he makes of a new London Underground map concept by the designer, Mark Noad.

Gavin Lucas investigates the enduring appeal of Edward Johnston’s eponymous typeface, commissioned 100 years ago.

Michael Evamy reports on how Parisian street signs, bull’s eyes and perhaps even a total eclipse of the sun all played a part in the design story of the Underground’s word-famous roundel.

And Patrick Burgoyne takes a look at London Transport Museum’s new exhibition of 150 key pieces from its archive and speaks to some of the panel of experts who selected them.

The Underground is also home to many large scale public art and design projects: Mark Sinclair takes a look at the history of platform art and talks to artist Annabel Grey about her commissions for Finsbury Park and Marble Arch stations.

London Transport Museum’s head of trading, Michael Walton, talks to Patrick Burgoyne about TfL’s clever approach to brand licensing and merchandising which earns it millions each year.

And Anna Richardson Taylor explores the Underground’s communications and advertising, past and present.

It’s not all about the London Underground; the issue also has a feature in which Patrick Burgoyne talks to designer Mark Farrow and John Lewis brand creative Paul Porral about their collaboration on the identity of Kin, a new range of fashion basics at the department store.

And in Crit, Rick Poynor reviews a new book, Branding Terror, which brings together the graphic symbols and logos used by terrorist organisations.

Regular columnist Daniel Benneworth-Grey reflects on how working home alone gives him the time to concentrate, reflect and talk to inanimate objects; while Paul Belford looks at how an ad art directed by Helmut Krone in 1980 managed to do away with everything bar the product demo.

Plus, in this month’s Monograph, we showcase a number of photographs by Adam Hinton of political graffiti in Egypt, with an introduction by Paul Belford.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. If you would like to buy this issue, or subscribe to CR, you can do so direct from us here.

For lovers of American modernism, Pentagram sent forth a tweet on Valentine’s day that no doubt got some pulses racing. “Found in Pentagram NY’s basement, here is every last page of Unimark’s 1970 NYC Transit Authority Standards Manual”…

As the studio reported, since the discovery the manual had been lovingly documented, in an appropriately clean and precise way, and launched as thestandardsmanual.com.

Designed by Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda while at Unimark International in New York in 1970, the publication is a considerable 179 pages long, thanks in large part to entire pages being given over to displaying single letters and numerals set in the typeface Standard Medium – not, in fact, Helvetica, as Paul Shaw’s fantastic AIGA post on the design of the New York subway reveals. Helvetica began to be used in favour of Unimark’s original choice of type from the 1980s onwards.

Just a handful of pages from the manual are shown here as the new site – the result of the collective efforts of designer Niko Skourtis, Pentagram’s Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth – is of course well worth browsing through. The designers have even incorporated a magnifier so that the body text of the manual can be read, too. See thestandardsmanual.com.

Thanks to Steve Collins for the note on the find.

CR in Print
The February issue of CR magazine features a major interview with graphic designer Ken Garland. Plus, we delve into the Heineken advertising archive, profile digital art and generative design studio Field, talk to APFEL and Linder about their collaboration on a major exhibition in Paris for the punk artist, and debate the merits of stock images versus commissioned photography. Plus, a major new book on women in graphic design, the University of California logo row and what it means for design, Paul Belford on a classic Chivas Regal ad and Jeremy Leslie on the latest trends in app design for magazines and more. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month.

David Adjaye, Matthew Carter, Jessica Hische, Sir John Hegarty and musician Spoek Mathambo are amongst an impressive line-up of speakers for this year’s Design Indaba conference in Cape Town

Few conferences around the world can bring in the big names quite like Design Indaba. This year, Sir John Hegarty, Paula Scher, Seymour Chwast, David Adjaye Christoph Niemann, Matthew Carter and Marian Bantjes will all appear on the three-day bill, with Mathambo topping the bill.

But one of the best things about Indaba has always been that, alongside those crowd-pullers, the organisers also bring speakers with whom the audience may be less familiar but who they often go away talking about. This year, from the UK, Ben Terrett will talk about his work on the government web services. Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg will explain how synthetic biology and design can help engineer a better future amd Brazilian chef Alex Atala will talk about combining the natural ingredients of his homeland in traditional cuisine.

Plus, there is Steven Heller, John Maeda, Martí Guixé, visual artist Jeanne van Heeswijk and many more. Fiull speaker programme here.

Design Indaba runs from February 27-29. CR will be reporting from the conference throughout.

CR in Print
The February issue of CR magazine features a major interview with graphic designer Ken Garland. Plus, we delve into the Heineken advertising archive, profile digital art and generative design studio Field, talk to APFEL and Linder about their collaboration on a major exhibition in Paris for the punk artist, and debate the merits of stock images versus commissioned photography. Plus, a major new book on women in graphic design, the University of California logo row and what it means for design, Paul Belford on a classic Chivas Regal ad and Jeremy Leslie on the latest trends in app design for magazines and more. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month.