Illustration/Design & Poster Flashcards
Gustaf Tenggren
- The look of his work varied greatly depending on the market or genre he was illustrating for.
- Tenggren was born in Västa Götaland, Sweden and was inspired by his grandfather’s sign paintings.
- He worked as an apprentice in a lithographer’s shop when he was very young and attended art school in Gothenburg at 17 with the help of scholarhships.
- In 1918, he took over illustrating Among Gnomes and Trolls from one of Sweden’s most famous fantasy illustrators, John Bauer. He completed 10 volumes of the anthology.
- In 1920, Tenggren moved to America and settled in New York.
- He illustrated classic stories for around 15 years until he was offered an art director job at Disney in 1935, working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. He painted scenes and concept art that inspired the artists working on the film. He also created posters and promotional material for the film.
- He continued working with Disney on Bambi, The Ugly Duckling, Hiawatha, Fantasia, and most notably, Pinocchio. He designed many of the environments, clothing, and props in Pinocchio.
- Gustaf Tenggren left Disney in 1940 to create his own children’s books, which he trademarked as “The Tenggren Books”, these were a series of folk tales and traditional stories. His children’s book illustration style was very different from his “gnomes and trolls” or concept art styles.
- He also created 28 Little Golden Books between 1942 -1962. The most popular of these was The Poky Little Puppy, which has become the all-time best selling hard cover children’s book to be produced in English.
- Tenggren had a successful and varied career. He eventually settled in Maine and died of lung cancer at age 73.
- A 30 ft. tall bronze Pinocchio Statue was erected in his honor in Borås, Sweden.
Gustaf Tenggren
Witch (1925)
Gustaf Tenggren
Concept art and promotional material from Snow White (1937/38)
Gustaf Tenggren
Concept art and promotional material from Snow White (1937/38)
Gustaf Tenggren
Concept art from Pinocchio (1937)
Gustaf Tenggren
The Poky Little Puppy (1942)
Gustaf Tenggren
The Poky Little Puppy (1942)
Mary Blair
- Mary Blair was born in McAlester, Oklahoma in 1911. was a child art prodigy. She graduated from San Jose State College and then earned a scholarship to Chouinard Art School, where she met her husband, Lee Everett Blair
- In 1940, both she and her husband began working for Walt Disney. She started out as a sketch artist for what would later become The Lady and the Tramp
- During a 3 month trip to South America with Walt Disney, her husband, and other studio artist, she became inspired by vibrant color palettes and abstract shapes.
- Her output formed the foundation of the Disney shorts Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1945)
- Mary Blair created color concept art for Walt Disney from 1940 -1953.
- left Disney in 1953 to spend more time with her family.
- Being around her sons made her begin drawing more children, which led to children’s book work and advertising work for Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Hanes underwear and Blue Bell Clothing .
- Disney called Mary Blair in 1963 for help with their It’s a Small World feature at the New York International Fair. This endeaver was considered to be the apex of her career as she got to show her color and design skills while also making art about children.
- She also created a mural for Tomorrow Land’s Adventure Thru Inner Space attraction.
- She died in 1978 and her influence on Disney didn’t become well-known until several decades later.
Mary Blair
Illustration from Blair’s trip to South America (1941)
Mary Blair
Cinderella concept art (1950)
Mary Blair
Cinderella concept art (1950)
Mary Blair
Peter Pan concept art (1953)
Mary Blair
Meadow Gold ice cream ad (1954)
Mary Blair
Concept piece for It’s a Small World (1964)
Saul Bass
- Won an academy award for the short documentary film he directed in 1968 titled, Why Man Creates.
- Work is characterized by its minimalistic style, distinctive typography, and symbolic designs.
- Saul Bass was born in Bronx, NY. He studied part-time at the Arts Students League and took night classes at Brooklyn College.
- He moved to Hollywood in 1940s and created print ads for films.
- Bass got his big break in 1954 by collaborating with Otto Preminger on the poster for Carmen Jones (Preminger was the director and liked the poster so much, he asked Bass to design title sequence for the film, too).
- Saul Bass thought of the title sequence as an opportunity to enhance the audience’s experience and contribute to the mood and the theme pf the film. He was one of the first to realize the creative potential of the title sequence.
- Before Bass, movie title sequences were just scenes from the movie. Bass simplified them and created symbolic designs.
- Saul Bass was also a visual consultant on five films. He filmed the prologue, storyboarded the opening dance sequence and created the ending title sequence for West Side Story. claims to have directed the shower murder scene of Psycho, probably only storyboarded and planned it.
- Saul Bass also designed many well-known logos, that have unusual longevity. Logos usually get refreshed every decade or so, but Bass’s have an average lifespan of more than 34 yrs. and counting.
- Bass only illustrated one book, Henri’s Walk to Paris (1962), written by Lenore Klein.
- Saul Bass won an oscar for his short film documentary, Why Man Creates (1968), which is in the National Film Registry.
- He lived a long life and was incredibly successful over 5 decades and continues to inspire the work of many illustrators and designers to this day.
Saul Bass
Poster & Title Sequence for The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
Saul Bass
Poster & Title Sequence for Vertigo (1958)
Saul Bass
Poster & Title Sequence for Anatomy of a Murder (1958)
Saul Bass
Saul Bass
Henri’s Walk To Paris (1962)
Saul Bass
Henri’s Walk To Paris (1962)
Saul Bass
Henri’s Walk To Paris (1962)
Saul Bass
Henri’s Walk To Paris (1962)
Saul Bass
Why Man Creates - Academy Award winning short doc (1968)
Push Pin Studios
(1954 -1974/present day)
- Created a fresh, witty, surrealist and thought-provoking style that united illustration with typography and design and impacted the visual culture from the 1950s-80s.
- Famous for publishing a bi-monthly freeform collaborative mailer called the Push Pin Graphic.
- After graduating from Cooper Union, Edward Sorel and Seymour Chwast worked for Esquire magazine. They were fired on the same day and formed an art studio and named it after their self-published mailing piece, The Push Pin Almanack, created while at Esquire.
- The Pushpin Almanack - 16 pages of witty writings, doodles, illustrations and graphics. Sent to 3000 art directors.
- They used their unemployment checks to rent a cold-water flat on 3. 17t Street in Manhattan. They used a pay phone to make calls. Glaser joined a few month later (He had received a Fulbright in Italy). Chwast and Glaser were considered the two “directors” of Push Pin.
- known for its spirit of humor, play, and surprise and its eclectic influences: Victoriana, Art Nouveau, Art Deco “Roxy” look, Pop-Art, Psychedelics
- The look of their work changed with the clients needs.
- members collaborated on design projects, but worked individually on editorial assignments.
*Edward Sorel left in 1956 (the same day as the studio moved to nicer space on E. 57th Street)
- They created a bi-monthly publication called the Push Pin Graphic in 1957
- Push Pin was considered a force of fresh creativity. It caused a stir in both the illustration and design communities.
- From the late 50s on, it was a magnet for designers and illustrators: James McMullan, Paul Davis, John Alcorn, etc. collaborated.
*Reynold Ruffins left in 1963
*Eventually, Glaser formed his own studio in ’74, after a 20 year collaboration.
- The last issue of the Graphic ran in 1980. It was considered a financial failure, but a pioneer in concept and landmark design.
- It impacted the look of visuals from the 1950s - late ’60s.
Push Pin Studios
Push Pin Studios
Premiere Issue of the Push Pin Graphic -
still called the Monthly Graphic at this time (1957)
Push Pin Studios
Push Pin Graphic Vendor Advertisement
Push Pin Studios
All Blue Issue (1979
Push Pin Studios
Not Quite Human (1980)
Push Pin Studios
Milton Glaser
(1929 - present)
- Best known for designing the “I Heart NY” logo(for which he receives no money), co-founding Push Pin Studios, co-founding New York Magazine, and designing the poster of Bob Dylan to go along with his greatest hits album in 1975.
- Milton Glaser was born in New York City. He attended the High school of Music and Art and then college at Cooper Union.
- His work is characterized by directness, simplicity, and originality
- He worked in any style and medium - ornate, primitive, avant garde, etc.
- He founded New York magazine in 1968
- Glaser taught at SVA and Cooper Union.
- His work is in the MOMA, the Smithsonian, and the National Design Museum (typefaces)
- He created logos for Brooklyn Brewery, DC Comics bullet logo , among others.
- In 2009, Glaser received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama
- In 2009, a documentary was created about him, To Inform and Delight: The World of Milton Glazer.
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Poster to go along with Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Album (1975)
Milton Glaser
New York Magazine
Milton Glaser
New York Magazine
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
World Health Organization Aids Awareness Symbol & Poster (1987)
Milton Glaser
Posters for Angels in America
Milton Glaser
Albert Camus
Seymour Chwast
(1931 - present)
- Known as the “left handed designer”.
- Currently the principal designer of the Pushpin Group, Inc.
- Chwast was born in Bronx, NY. He graduated from Cooper Union in 1951.
- He was fired from his first few design jobs – NYT promo department, Esquire, Conde Nast.
- His strength is in concept and design, rather than rendering.
- Seymour Chwast is known for woodcuts, “roxy” deco psychedelic style
- He melded social commentary and distinctive style of illustration.
- He designed and illustrated more than 30 children’s books and more than 100 posters.
- Seymore Chwast was influenced by Ben Shahn, Georg Grosz, and Honoré Daumier
- He was known for having a humorous and aggressive approach to his work
*Chwast married Paula Scher (a famous graphic designer) in 1973. They divorced in 1978 and remarried in 1989.
Seymour Chwast
Poster for The Push Pin Graphic (1967)
Seymour Chwast
Odd Eating Habits -The Push Pin Graphic (1967)
Seymour Chwast
End Bad Breath - Anti-Vietnam War Poster (1968)
Seymour Chwast
The Atlantic (1982)
Seymour Chwast
Happy Birthday, Bach
Seymour Chwast
The 12 Circus Rings
Seymour Chwast
One of a series of ”Chwast Quote”s for Print Magazine’s Blog (2011)
Robert “Bob” Peak
(1927 - 1992)
- Best known for his innovative movie poster designs.
- Also created advertisement, editorial, and portrait illustrations, along with designing 30 stamps for the U.S. Postal Service from the 1984 Summer & Winter Olympics.
- Known for his bold and aggressive colors, compositions and line quality.
- Bob Peak was born in the mid-west. He majored in geology at Wichita State University in Kansas.
- Peak joined the military during the Korean War, then used the G.I. Bill to attend Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
- In 1953, he moved to New York City.
- He received the Hickory Whiskey Ad Campaign, which led to major ad and magazine work.
- In 1961, Peak was hired to design the West Side Story poster (after a poster design by Saul Bass was dismissed!!).
- His exciting, new high energy poster style led to more poster work - Star Trek, Excalibur, Rollerball, Apocolypse Now, etc.
- By the 1980s, only Drew Struzan was more in demand for poster illustration
- Bob Peak taught at the Art Center, Art Students League, and Famous Artists School.
- He was an incredibly popular and influential lifestyle and poster artist during the 1960s– 1980s
Robert “Bob” Peak
Advertisement for Old Hickory Whiskey (1959)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Advertisement for Winston
Robert “Bob” Peak
Advertisement for 7-UP
Robert “Bob” Peak
Poster for West Side Story (1961)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Poster for My Fair Lady (1964)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Artwork for In Like Flint Poster (1967)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Poster for Enter the Dragon (1973)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Mother Teresa - Time (1975)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Poster for Superman (1978)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Poster for Star Trek: The Final Frontier (1989)
Robert “Bob” Peak
Poster for The London Philharmonic Orchestra (1989)
