Label from Bardola Hoyfjellshotel in Geilo, Norway - c1960s?

I think I’m obsessed with modern Scandinavian design from the 1950s- 1960s. First it was furniture and kids books, then Ceramics and now luggage labels! Where does it end? What’s in that Nordic water?

also worth checking:
Swiss Modern luggage label
Modern luggage label from Portugal

Brochure for the Rancho San Miguel (Walnut Creek,CA) Eichler development c1950s

In honor of the upcoming Birth of Cool: Mid-Century Modern design in California exhibition, I thought it would be nice to post this Eichler brochure. I found the brochure several years ago at an estate sale in Lafayette, California. I love the photo. Most likely the photographer is Ernest (Ernie) Braun.

Richard Erdoes - Policemen around the world c1967

Richard Erdoes was an author and illustrator. He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1912 and later immigrated to the United States. The book above is one of a 3 part “around the world” series. The other two books were Musicians of the world and Peddlers and Vendors of the world. Both of which, were produced around the same time in the late 1960s.

It looks like Erdoes’ used a combination of Pen/ Ink and gouache to achieve the finished look found in the images above. This reminds me of the work of Miroslav Sasek who I believe used gouache as well.

Many thanks to grain edit reader Thorsten Schmidt for sending the following Richard Erdoes link in:
Richard Erdoes magazine illustration

If you like Richard Erdoes you might be  interested in our post on Ryohei Yanagihara.

Vette Annonce type specimen sheet late - Netherlands 1950s/ early 60s

Happy Wednesday! It’s been a while since I’ve posted any type specimens, so I figured it was time to post this gem from Lettergieterij ‘Amsterdam’ (Amsterdam Type Foundry) which was founded by Nicolaas Tetterode. The specimen is a tri-fold that opens to reveal an 11 X 17 sheet. I’d love to know more about Tetterode, ATF, and this typeface. Can any of the typographers out there fill in the blanks? Has Vette Annonce been digitized? I believe “Vette Annonce” translates to “fat advertisement”. With that in mind, is “Vette Annonce” even the name of the typeface?

Israeli environment stamps - 1975

Beautiful stamps addressing both noise and industrial pollution.
Be sure to check out this modern stamp from Israel as well.

Concepts - Promotional book for US Steel c1961

Industrial designer / illustrator Syd Mead is well known for his vehicle designs and backgrounds for classic science fiction films like Blade Runner and Aliens during the 1980s. Long before these projects, he produced a series of conceptual illustrations and paintings for US Steel. The futuristic automobiles, diagrams and environments were published in several promotional books during the early 1960s.

These books are intense to look at. The full page spreads are over 2 feet wide and heavily detailed. Keep in mind when viewing the images above, that this work is very early on in his career, as he had recently finished his studies at Art Center in Pasadena.

Graphic design magazine - japan 1965

Running with a Japanese theme today. Can’t stop thinking about those flicks I caught this past weekend. Great cover for a Japanese graphic design magazine from the sixties.

Also worth checking out, is this Japanese poster we posted.

1960s Japanese book cover designs

I don’t know much about the company that published the book on the right, but the book on the left was published by Kappa in 1963. Keep your eyes out for Kappa, they have other cool covers.

Issues of Icographic magazine 1971-1978 produced by ICOGRADA

Icographic (The review of International Visual Communication Design) was founded by John Halas in 1971. It was designed / edited by Patrick Wallis Burke and released quarterly, well atleast for the first year. The journal addressed the broader areas of visual communication such as semiotics, communication theory, ergonomics of visual communication and the psychology of perception. Of the four issues I have, two deal with Pictorgrams, Isotypes and symbols. I’m fascinated by the work of Otto Neurath and Otl Aicher (both of which are featured within the Journal) so it was a real pleasure to stumble unto these issues. In addition to Neurath and Aicher, there are sections on signing systems designed by Yugoslav architect Radomir Vukovoc and Pictograms by Ian McLaren and Claude Braunstein.

The layout and content remind me of another design journal produced during the same general time period titled Dot Zero. I will be covering Dot Zero in a future post but, for now enjoy the Icographic slideshow above.

(t) Jazz/ Rock voicings for the contemporary keyboard player c1974
(b) Jazz Improvisation for keyboard players c1978

I picked up these two books over the weekend. They are part of an instructional jazz book series produced in the 1970s for Studio publications and recordings. I’m not sure who responsible for the cover design but, I like how he limited it to a few simple shapes and the type. Both books are written by Dan Haerle, but there are others in the series by Rufus Reid and Ramon Ricker.