London, U.K.
This year marked the 97th anniversary of the birth of FHK Henrion. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, on 18 April 1914, this masterful, award-winning designer obtained his British nationality in 1946. Trained as a textile designer in Paris, he first worked (from 1936-1939) under Paul Colin in Paris and London. During World War II, he became a consultant for the exhibitions division of the Ministry of Information and US Office of War Information in London, creating strong, influential social posters. He later worked as an editor for BOAC, Complete Imbiber, Contract, and Future magazines.
In 1951, Henrion established his own consultant agency, Henrion Design Associates, focusing on corporate identity, poster exhibitions, packaging, magazine, and book design. One of his most notable works was the identity for KLM (the Dutch airline) which still works effectively 60 years later.
Henrion became the third president of Icograda in 1968 (I served as the 19th, from 2001-2003) as well as a president of AGI and Master of Faculty of RDI (1972-1973); then leader of the faculty of Visual Communication at the London College of Printing (1976-1979).
Shown above is a small sampling of his works… see more at the FHK Henrion Archive and Research Library (University of Brighton) here.
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Old lettering and alphabet ephemera make me happy… is that odd?
(source)
Lisbon, 1995…
I chanced across a photo of this sugar packet today… an effective visual narrative conveying an important message (in any language) by means of a simple illustration. I had pocketed a few of these in a street cafe in Portugal in the mid-1990s, and one has been pinned to a cork-board above my desk (amidst much other ephemera) for many years.
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Cuban postage stamps commemorating the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, Japan—themes include “planning a more satisfying life, towards the better enjoyment of life, and achieving greater understanding….”
(source, thanks to colleague Adrian Shum)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Like most designers and illustrators I know, I tend to collect reference imagery (of all sorts) and I have a particular fondness for visual language ephemera and vintage cultural oddities. A big thanks to the many folks who send me quirky images, posters, and links to pockets of rich online content (keep ’em coming!)… I’ve compiled some “Albums” (Facebook) of eclectic and quirky stuff that has landed on my laptop… most sources unknown.
To view, click here or here…
Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
André Meca is a freelance designer and illustrator currently studying Graphic Design at ESAD.CR (where I lectured last year). His project ‘Make Something Cool Every Day’ is an online project to showcase his work… it caught my attention.
All images copyright André Meca.
Brooklyn, New York
Dana Tanamachi is a graphic designer and custom chalk letterer… her evocative work speaks for itself. See more on her website here...
Shown above: chalk lettering used on a wine label, poster, and magazine cover… (thanks to GDC colleague Brian Branch in Moncton for the link).
Munich, Germany
I love stumbling across old trade magazine covers like this…
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A useful metaphor… (source)
Sounds like fun… whatever it means. (-:
(original image source unknown)
