Armando Testa

This week, the reading opened up with a mention of Armando Testa. Although there was only a small discussion of his work, I found myself intrigued to learn more about the artist "considered the father of modern Italian advertsing" (Aslanadis, 2014).

By the age of 14, Testa had already tried several apprenticeships, including as a locksmith, sheet metal worker, and a typesetter. He began taking night classes at the Vigliardi Paravia School of Graphic Arts, where he was mentored by Ezio d-Errico, "a teacher at the school and one of the best known abstract artists of the day" (Tungate, 2013).  Although he won several competitions to design letterheads and leaflets, he was a difficult employee and was fired from most jobs after only a few weeks, "until by the age of 18 he had been let go by 28 different employers" (Tungate). But Testa had a breakthrough as a graphic designer in 1937 after winning a poster competition for ICI, an ink and paint manufacturer.

Source: zigposters.co.uk

In 1946, Testa opened up his own graphic design studio in his hometown of Turin, where "he began to create labels, logos, packaging, brochures, covers, and posters," initially attracting mainly small clients (AdAge, 2003). However, he soon drew larger clientele, including Martini & Rossi, Carpano, and Pirelli, for whom his tire ads received much acclaim. In his work for Carpano, Testa created a character of "King Carpano," an anthropomorphic liquor bottle who toasted famous historical figures in the advertisements.

Source: AllThingsRuffnerian.blogspot.com

Martini & Rossi ad, Source: TheAnimalarium.blogspot.com

Pirelli ad, Source: RebelsInTradition.com

In 1956, Testa, his wife, and associate Franco de Barberis founded Studio Testa, a full-service advertising agency "destined to become a leader in Italy and beyond" (Verzotti, 2001). The agency became highly active in television advertising, Testa created a stop motion video advertisement for client Lavazzo's Paulista coffee, featuring characters made of simple cones and spheres. The ads, run on Italy's late night Carosello advertising block became wildly popular, as many "Italians have fond memories of these early TV years and many of the early commercials and their characters" (AdAge, 2003).

Paulista commercial still, Source: YouTube

Perhaps as a result of his early influences, Testa maintained a strong desire to create abstract art in addition to his interest in commercial graphic design, but he was fortunate "to be able to work with clients who, like him, felt that art and commerce were not mutually exclusive" (Tungate, 2013). His love of simplicity in design may have assisted him in his success, where advertisements that quickly impart a message can be the most memorable. At a showing of his work in 1987, Testa described this inspiration and impact: "My love of synthesis - conveying a message by means of a single gesture, a simple image - and my use of white backgrounds, primary colors, and the most basic symbols of visual communication (circle, cross, diagonal, angle) have unfortunately endowed me over the years with a distinctive style, and many people recognize my work on sight.

Testa's work pulled inspiration from many areas, and his poster style definitely recalls the Plakatstil era, but he also continues to be an inspiration. A 2002 ad by his agency for Pirelli is an homage to two easily recognizable works of Testa, showing that his designs can still have a major impact even 50 years later.

Source: MosernPosterArt.blogspot.com

Source:ThePost.Pirelli.it

Source: Coloribus.net

Sources:

AdAge. (2003). Armando Testa. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/armando-testa/98902/

Ruffner, M. (2012). The distinctive designs of Armando Testa. Retrieved from 

http://allthingsruffnerian.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-distinctive-designs-of-armando-testa.html

Tungate, M. (2013). Adland: A global history of advertising. Retrieved from 

http://books.google.com/books?id=yzNacuCWL8UC&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=ici+testa+poster&source=bl&ots=gxSLGFmj0u&sig=64ivxrd2KKvEdN3XBl7sV3iEOBE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XLZ1VLfNLIupgwTcz4GQBg&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=ici%20testa%20poster&f=false

Verzotti, G. (2001). Armando Testa. Retrieved from 

http://www.castellodirivoli.org/en/mostra/armando-testa/

Akzidenz-Grotesk

The 1950s saw the development of the International Typographic Style movement, also called Swiss design. Major elements of the movement included asymmetrical organiation of elements on a grid, objective design and copy, and the use of sans-serif typography. In the latter area, the dominant font that inspired and drove the movement was not one developed during the era, but one that was created 60 years prior.

Akzidenz Grotesk was a san-serif font family released by the Berthold Foundry in 1896. It "originate[d] from Royal Grotesk light by royal type-cutter Ferdinand Theinhardt," who developed it for the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin (Devroye, 2014). The fonts came in many sizes and weights that allowed for a large variety of compositions, and was seen as "a major step in the evolution of the unified and systematized type family." It  continued to be "a source of inspiration for other sans serif typefaces until the post-World War II era" (Meggs, 2006). During the Swiss design movement, two major typefaces that drew on Akzidenz Grotesk's inspiration were Univers and Helvetica. Although some of the differences were subtle, it is possible to see the many variations when the typefaces are compared side-by-side.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

During the Swiss design movement, Akzidenz Grotesk was highly favored by many designers. The most notable of the group include Joseph Muller-Bruckman and Anton Stankowski. Muller Bruckman's designs incorporated the font in many different ways, sometimes making it the major focus of the design, such as in the Der Film poster. Almost 100 years after the font was developed, Stankowski was still singing its praises, calling it his preferred font even after 60 years in the industry.

Source: 100besttypefaces.com

Many years after the end of the Swiss design movement, the typeface is still highly prevalent. It frequently ranks near the top of lists like "The Best 100 Typefaces of All Time" and "The 10 Best Fonts." The font can be seen in everything from calculators to movie posters.

Braun calculator with Akzidenz Grotesk buttons. Source: FontsInUse.com

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie poster. Blue font is Akzidenz Grotesk. Source: FontsInUse.com

A current designer based in Portugal was even inspired to create a sample branding project, imagining an Akzidenz Grotesk range of beers in homage to the typeface's birthplace. He created mockup bottles for different types of beers with alcohol volume based on the different weights in the original typeface.

Source: CreativeBloq.com

It is unlikely that Akzidenz Grotesk will ever go out of style or use. As one writer states, the font family "has remained popular and influential for a century now because it is regal without being pretentious, clean without being soulless...Typefaces come and go: Akzidenz Grotesk remains" (Alterio, 2014).

Sources:

Alterio, J. (2014). Kern your enthusiasm 7. Retrieved from http://hilobrow.com/2014/08/07/kern-your-enthusiasm-7/

Devroye, L. (2014). Ferdinand Theinhardt. Retrieved from http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-46521.html

H. Berthold Typefoundry. (2014). Akzidenz grotesk. Retrieved from http://www.bertholdtypes.com/blog/2010-12-08/akzidenz-grotesk/

Meggs, P.B., Purvis, A.W. (2006). Megg's history of graphic design. Hoboken, N.J.: J Wiley & Sons.

Degenerate Art

"This art is the production of crazy people. Pity the people who are no longer able to control this sickness." -Adolf Hitler, in reference to the Dada movement

During Hitler's tenure as the leader of Germany, art was seen as "one of the most important elements to strengthening the Third Reich and purifying the nation" (FCIT, 2013). It was considered as part of political expression and power, and Hitler preferred work that was "realistic and heroic," portraying his idea of "the true German spirit" (Trueman, 2014). However, there was a significant amount of art that did not meet with the approval of the ruling party. Modern art in particular was abhorred by the group, often referred to by "the terms Jewish, degenerate, and Bolshevik" (FCIT 2013). Art that did not meet with the party's stringent standards was targeted for destruction, and the artists who produced it could often meet with consequences. In their attempt to suppress "unsavory" art, the German government did bring about the destruction of many works of art, but also exposed a wide audience to the movement they hoped to destroy.

Entartete Kunst poster. Source: Deutsches Historiches Museum

In 1927, Germany saw the formation of the National Socialist Society for German Culture, which aimed to "halt the 'corruption of art' and inform the people about the relationship between race and art" (FCIT, 2013). By 1937, the Nazi Party conducted a purge of all the German museums, removing any art they classified as degenerate. "Thousands of so-called degenerate works were destroyed," but some were earmarked for other purposes (Schwartz, 2014). In July 1937, the German government debuted two major art shows - a huge showcase of great German art that embodied all the ideals of the ruling party, and Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art), an "exhibit...designed to ridicule and denigrate creative works not upholding 'correct' National Socialist virtues" (Hammerstingl, 1998). 

Lines to see the Entartete Kunst show. Source: Red Wedge Magazine

This exhibit included over 650 works of various mediums, including paintings, sculptures, prints, books, and musical notations. Famous artists whose works were displayed in this exhibit include Chagall, Van Gogh, and Kandinsky. Some artists whose works were considered too inflammatory were not displayed. This included artist Kathe Kollowitz, "because her work was critical of the Nazi regime" (FCIT 2013). 

Capture of original Entarte Kunst show. Source: Judisches Museum Berlin

The work that was showcased in the exhibit was "chaotically hung with accompanying criticism and derisive text, in order to clarify to the German people what type of art was considered unacceptable" (USHMM, 2014). After the initial showing in Munich, the show traveled to other parts of Germany and Austria over the next two years, exposing the works to a wide range of people. By the end of its run, over three million people had visited the exhibit, making it "the most widely seen exhibit of modern art" (Hammerstingl, 1998).

A video of the Entartete Kunst 1937 Show. Source: YouTube.

But the end of the exhibit also saw the end of many of the abhorrent artworks. "On March 20, 1939, the Degenerate Art Commission ordered over one thousand paintings and almost four thousand watercolors and drawings burned in the courtyard of a fire station in Berlin" (Hammerstingl, 1998). Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945, also ordered more purging of art from German collections shortly after the exhibition, "bringing the total number of modern works seized by the Nazis to over 16,000" (USHMM, 2014).

Recent exhibit of the 1937 art shows side by side. Source: Neue Galerie New York

Ultimately, though this action led to the destruction of countless works of art, the effort to suppress modern art was unsuccessful. The actions of the Third Reich were unable to stop the progress of art, and their choices ultimately exposed a much larger audience to the artistic movement than it might have otherwise seen.

Sources:

FCIT - Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2013). Degenerate art: Entartete Kunst. Retrieved from http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/artDegen.htm

FCIT - Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2013). Nazi approved art. Retrieved from 

http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/ARTREICH.HTM

Hammerstingl, W. (1998). Entartete Kunst. Retrieved from 

http://www.olinda.com/ArtAndIdeas/lectures/ArtWeDontLike/entarteteKunst.htm

Schwartz, L. (2014). 'Degenerate' exhibit recalls Nazi war on modern art. Retrieved from 

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/29/317034126/degenerate-exhibit-recalls-nazi-war-on-modern-art

Trueman, C. (2014). Art in Nazi Germany. Retrieved from 

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/art_nazi_germany.htm

USHMM - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2014) 1937 Munich exhibition of degenerate art. Retrieved from http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/collections-highlights/julien-bryan/nazi-germany-1937/1937-munich-exhibition-of-degenerate-art

Advertising Apple: How Plakatstil Sold the iPod

When you think of Apple and the debut of the iPod, one of the first things that comes to mind is the famous silhouette advertisements. The ads are very simplified: a black silhouette of a person against a brightly colored background with a white iPod and headphones in stark contrast in the forefront of the poster. This style was used for the print and video media for the new launch, and contributed to the popularity and exposure of the item. It is heralded in some literature as being "groundbreaking" and "iconic", but it obviously owes its inspiration to the Plakatstil movement of the early twentieth century.

Source: AdMadness.com

In a fascinating twist, the iPod ads share not only the Plakatstil style, but also a similar reaction upon their first introduction to the decision makers at Apple. Graphic artists at TBWA/Chiat/Day, Apple's ad agency, created the designs in 2003, along with a number of other possibilities. Although the agency was pushing the silhouettes in particular, Steve Jobs, head of Apple, did not like the idea and "dismissed it outright" (Fiegerman, 2012). Jobs' biggest complaint was that he felt the ad "doesn't show the product...[and] doesn't say what it is" (Doyle, 2011). However, the ad agency pushed back and managed to convince him of the merits, changing his mind and causing him to move forward with the design. This mirrors the reaction to artist Lucian Bernhard's early Plakatstil poster for Priester matches. When he entered it into a competition, it was rejected outright, but one juror convinced of it's genius convinced the others to move forward, sparking a movement,

Source: Britannica.com

The Priester poster and many other works of the Plakatstil movement followed "the Bernhard formula: flat background color; large simple image; and product name" (Meggs, 2006). The iPod designs fall under the same formula but with a small twist. They are described as "never more than three distinct colors on the screen at any one time, and black and white are two of them. What makes it so bold are those vast swaths of neon monochrome" (Stevenson, 2004). In Apple's case, this formula paid off. According to one source, "the distinctive marketing art used in these ads also helped Apple to sell tens of millions of iPods...[and] in some ways, helped Apple move its business to another level" (Doyle, 2011). The iPod designs are really just a Bernhard poster with a more vibrant background color, and evidence of how old methods can prove to be incredibly successful inspirations for modern graphic designs.

Cited Sources:

Doyle, J. (2011). The iPod silhouettes: 200o - 2011. Retrieved from 

http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/tbwachiatday-advertising/

Fiegerman, S. (2012). Steve Jobs almost killed one of Apple's biggest ad campaigns. Retrieved from 

http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-hated-ipod-silhouette-ad-2012-4

Meggs, P. B., Purvis, A.W. (2006). Megg's history of graphic design. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons.

Stevenson, S. (2004). You and your shadow. Retrieved from

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/ad_report_card/2004/03/you_and_your_shadow.html