Alvin designed the first 25 and elaine went on to do more than 100 more. The words graphic designer, architect, or industrial designer stick in. Their collection of book jackets by american designer alvin lustig, ads for milanese tire. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig graphic design archives chapbook 9781933360485. James laughlin in the book jackets of alvin lustig had this to say about lustig. Alvin lustig believed that painting was dead and that design would emerge as a primary art form.
As publisher of new directions, laughlin hired lustig in the early 1940s. His method was to read a text and get the feel of the authors creative drive, then to restate it in his own graphic terms, laughlin later wrote in the book jackets of alvin lustig. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer 19151955. Biography an introduction about alvin lustig and his lifetime. The history of graphic design is replete with paradigmatic works as. Lawrence and james joyce, was a proving ground for the designers visual explorations and distinctive graphic poetry. There is a designer and title index, someting that was sadly missing from the great american. Alvin lustigs book jacket designs part 3 on behance. Jun 03, 2018 alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive. Anatomy for interior designers by julus panerowhitney library of design, 1954illustrator. Four such albums bearing lustigs design are featured in cooper hewitts collection, including. Those jackets helped distinguish her more freeform style from alvin s lateperiod precisionist approach. His career highlights include numerous book jackets for new directions and noonday press. Lustig has been honored by the american institute of graphic arts and the.
Lustig seldom relied on literal solutions for his cover designs. Mar 06, 2012 alvin lustig was an american graphic designer, typeface designer and teacher. Sep 14, 2012 in steven heller and elaine lustig cohens book, born modern. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig rit press rit. Twentyfifth commencement, beverly hills high school, graphic and designart by alvin lustig b. Around the same time, arthur cohen, book publisher and the lustigs best friend, insisted that elaine design meridian books new line of paperbacks. See more ideas about alvin lustig, book design and book cover design. Alvin lustig graphic designer vv published in us in 2014 by studio art ff. He also studied design independently with american architect frank lloyd wright at his taliesin studio. Americana cooper hewitt, smithsonian design museum. His method was to read a text and get the feel of the authors creative drive, then to restate it in his own graphic terms, wrote james laughlin in the book jackets of alvin lustig print, vol. Some design logos, typefaces, pictograms, while others create book jackets, magazines, comics, thoughtprovoking posters, record covers, films campaign artworks, corporate identity solutions and more.
Wellknown for his designs of books, book jackets, and magazines, lustig also designed several record jackets for albums of classical and concert band music. Alvin lustig gets an impressive eightyeight page look at his book jackets for new directions. While his recognition lies mainly in the realm of book jacket design, lustigs work in advertising and brand identity drew from the same modernist influences. The life and design of alvin lustig, the authors describe his coverdesign process. Alvin lustig s amazing talent for creating visual narratives that captured the imagination inspired me to handcraft and faithfully reproduce 14 book jacket designs originally created by alvin lustig for the new classics series published by new directions. The indisputable stridestopping power of the cover, as we cringe at its intentionally awkward grotesqueness, makes the books point before weve. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig is a colorful and wellresearched representation of lustig s book cover designs that were created primarily for new directions books and noonday press, among others.
Alvin lustig revolutionizing the approach to book cover design in the lustig would attempt to get a sense of the writers direction from reading the book and then translate it into his own graphic style. Aug 4, 2012 alvin lustig is one of my design heroes. Along with graphic design, his impressive range of work included book covers, magazines, letterheads, catalogs, signage, furniture, logos. Alvin lustig a student of frank lloyd wright, among others, alvin lustig had a very successful career in graphic design and art direction. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig 0 graphic design archi here is a colorful and wellresearched representation of alvin lustig s book cover designs that were created primarily for new directions books and noonday press, among others. The first jacket which lustig did for a new directions book the one for the. Lacma makes commitment to graphic design eye on design.
Amerika by franz kafka was designed by alvin lustig for new directions books in 1946. A look at design from the vantage point of the business community it serves. He began designing book covers in 1937 and revolutionized the approach to book cover design in the 1940s. Thinking about using these alvin lustig book covers for a midcentury quilt.
One of his most memorable masterpieces is that of the book cover, lorca. Rarely is the graphic designer given the chance to act upon what he considers his highest level upon a problem of serious intentions. Across the globe from europe, united states to asia, countless famous graphic designers emerged and abundantly contributed to this art form. Laughlin, was a progressive publisher with an intuitive understanding of the artistic graphic design, who commissioned lustig to create book jackets for such important thinkers as henry miller, gertrude stein, d. Alvin lustig, revolutionary book jacket designer and recipient of a 1993 aiga medal, models how personal vision wedded to modern form can significantly impact the public sphere. Alvin lustig was a renowned twentieth century graphic designer. Lustig also designed sculptural lighting fixtures with small circular bulbs that were akin to the abstract linear designs he used on some of his betterknown book jackets.
One of the major figures i lecture on extensively is aiga medalist alvin lustig, thanks in no small part to the website that displays scores of examples of hi. Alvin lustig s contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive. A conversation with charlotte strick, book jacket designer. I am in awe of all of his book covers, and it is hard to single out one cover but, for me, this iconic design stands the test of time. His method was to read a manuscript to get the feel of the authors creative drive, then restate it in his own graphic terms. The current preference among american book jacket designers for. The new york school anm102 history of graphic and web design. Click to enlarge written by steven heller and elaine lustig cohen, the book details the many aspects of the life of alvin lustig including his work in both graphic and interior design, how he evolved as a designer, his interest in education. Lustig used the book cover as a vehicle of his bold graphic experimentation that was enhanced by a lifelong collaboration. Alvin lustig believed in the power of design when applied to all aspects of life. Lustig has been honored by the american institute of graphic arts and the art direct. The august, september, and october advertisementsthough similar in style to lustigs workwere not made by him, the november advertisement was attributed to rj wolff, and the december issue repeated a previous lustig design.
Alvin lustig, graphic artist, architect and trend setter. Jan 20, 2009 make it bigger, a muchdetested client refrain for all graphic designers, is a delightful exercise in switching sides. From business cards to book covers to office buildings, alvin lustig. Their designs blanket young adult bestsellers like john greens turtles all the way down 2017, literary classics like vladimir nabokovs the eye 1930, and tomes that rethink the form of a book one comes with a remote control, and drives like a toy car. See more ideas about alvin lustig, book cover design and graphic design. From the book jackets of alvin lustig by james laughlin, print magazine, octnov 1956 the first jacket which lustig did for a new directions book the one for the 1941 edition of henry millers wisdom of the heart was quite unlike anything then in vogue, but it scarcely hinted at the extraordinary flowering which was to follow. New directions quirky list of reprints, which featured such authors as henry miller, gertrude stein, d. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer books. Jan 16, 2016 explore faceoutstudios board book covers. Alvin lustig alvin lustig, book jacket, graphic design. Each new classics book jacket lustig created had its own unique character. The new york school william pickering, title page for the book of common prayer, 1844.
Included are books, architecture, interiors, ads, identity and print. Some lustig designed book jackets from new directions. Meet the top book cover designers working today artsy. He hung floortoceiling curtains made from ninon, an inexpensive white transparent nylon fabric, to smooth out the edges of the room. Feb 27, 2018 below, we talk with five designers whose book jackets are routinely hailed as crowd favorites. How one couple turned a graphic design hobby into a major. Alvin lustig 20 graphic designers you should know alvin lustig all the time. Book jacket cooper hewitt, smithsonian design museum. Lustig immersed himself in all aspects of design, including architecture. Case in point, the new exhibition vitality of new forms. Alvin lustig believed that painting was dead and that design.
I have been teaching the history of graphic design at both the grad and undergrad level at marywood university since the turn of the century. When elaine lustig cohen assumed ownership of her husbands midtown manhattan design practice after he died at the age of 40, most of. Meet alvin lustig 19151955, the amazing artist designer of these and other books. Pioneering graphic designer, artist and archivist, elaine lustig cohen is recognized for her body of design work integrating european avantgarde and modernist influences into a distinctly american, midcentury manner of typographic communication. Among these pioneering modernists was elaine lustig cohen b. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer about alvin. Alvin lustig, 1946 all book covers for new directions, unless. Sep 22, 2015 each of his allencompassing book covers had a life and character of its own, focusing on more than just one general image. Aug 02, 2016 alvin lustig was one of the most influential graphic designers of mid20th century america, despite the unfortunate brevity of his career.
For seven years elaine lustig cohen was married to alvin lustig, one of the most influential graphic designers in the modernist vanguard. Lustigs first jacket for laughlin, a 1941 edition of henry millers wisdom of the heart, eclipsed the jacket designs of previous new directions books, which laughlin described as. A student of frank lloyd wright, among others, alvin lustig had a very successful career in graphic design and art direction. Purity of aim the book jacket designs of alvin lustig 0. Curated by two members of the college of visual arts graphic design faculty. See more ideas about alvin lustig, book cover design and book design. Alvin lustig, revolutionary book jacket designer and recipient of a 1993 aiga medal, models how personal vision wedded to modern form can significantly. Lustig believed it was a medium which could reach a wider and less elitist audience than conventional art. The current preference among american book jacket designers for fragmented images, photoillustration, minimal typography and rebuslike compositions can be traced directly to lustig s stark blackandwhite cover for lorca, a grid of five symbolic photographs linked in poetic disharmony. Designing book jackets helped her develop a more freeform style that distinguished her from alvin s more precise aesthetic.
The alvin lustig collection was donated to rit in 1986 by his widow, elaine lustig cohen. He further rejected the typical cover design that summarized a book through one generalized image. By the time he died at the age of forty in 1955, he had already introduced principles of continue reading. Publication alvin lustig graphic designer, architect, and interior designer became the visual design research director at look magazine heavily involved with design education and in 1951 helped develop a graduate graphic design program at. The opportunity to design this series of book jackets was an unusual one. Alvin lustig biography alvin lustig was a renowned twentieth century graphic designer.
Click to enlarge written by steven heller and elaine lustig cohen, the book details the many aspects of the life of alvin lustig including his work in both graphic and interior design, how he evolved as a designer, his interest in education and his passion for changing the world through his creations. Alvin lustigs book jacket designs part 1 on behance. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Born in 1915, alvin lustig grew up in denver, colorado. A gifted designer whose work included graphics, packaging, typography, architecture and interiors, alvin lustig brought his inimitable style to knoll for a short but impactful moment in the thennascent companys history. See more ideas about alvin lustig, cover design and book cover design. Famous graphic designers list, biographies and designs. For his valuable contribution to graphic an alvin lustig dust jacket design. The amazing alvin lustig book design, graphic design. Lustig has been honored by the american institute of graphic arts and the art directors club hall of fame for his significant contributions to american design. The first book came out ten years ago and was a rather slim thirtysix pages look at the work of lester beall. Alvin lustig aiga, the professional association for design.
The back of the book has a portfolio of six designers including my favorites, alvin lustig and paul rand. Alvin lustig was an american book designer, graphic designer and typeface designer. Lustig believed it was a medium which could reach a wider and less elitist audience than conventional. Lustig s covers projected moods rather than gave conventional pictorial summaries. Lawrence and james joyce, and he gave the artist the freedom to experiment and develop his personal style in a fertile ground for. These started in 1939 when he met publisher james laughlin, they became good friends and lustig designed dozens of covers through the forties and fifties for laughlins imprints, fiftyfour, in color, are included in the book with six covers for other publishers. Alvin lustig, revolutionary book jacket designer and recipient of a 1993 aiga. The fourth title in this slowly expanding graphic designer series and the most ambitious so far.
Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer architecture. In a 1995 article for eye magazine, graphic designer, writer, and. Alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive. Art directors share their alltime favourite book covers. Alvin lustigs book jacket designs part 2 on behance. In contrast the covers in jackets required are bursting with creativity, the chapter on nonfiction has some particularly striking designs.
The alvin lustig archive includes over 400 designs from this important modern american design pioneer. The life and design of alvin lustig, the authors describe his cover design process. Alvin lustig february 8, 1915 december 5, 1955 was an american book designer, graphic designer and typeface designer. Alvin lustig brought modern art into american bookshops. Lustig used the book cover as a vehicle of his bold graphic experimentation that was enhanced by a lifelong collaboration with james laughlin, founder and. They collect books, magazines, posters, and ephemera for inspiration just like many other graphic designers, but kind companys greg donofrio and patricia belen arent your average graphic design hoarders. Alvin lustig was the original design strategist petrolicious. Post 1 by nat kiryk alvin lustig graphic design history. Designing book jackets helped her develop a more freeform style that distinguished her from alvins more precise aesthetic. Lustig was a renowned twentiethcentury graphic designer and a design hero of mine.