Follis, John. An Inscribed Copy: ARCHITECTURAL SIGNING AND GRAPHICS. New York/London: Whitney Library of Design/The Architectural Press, Ltd., 1979.

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ARCHITECTURAL SIGNING AND GRAPHICS

John Follis and Dave Hammer

John Follis and Dave Hammer: ARCHITECTURAL SIGNING AND GRAPHICS. New York/London: Whitney Library of Design/The Architectural Press, Ltd., 1979. First edition. Quarto. Embossed red cloth titled in white. Printed dust jacket. 232 pp. 250 black and white illustrations. 24 pages of color reproductions. INSCRIBED by John Follis on dedication page. Jacket spine lightly sunned and edges with a couple of tiny nicks and short closed tears. A nearly fine copy in a nearly fine dust jacket.

Inscribed to Elaine Lustig Cohen on dedication page: “To Elaine / with best wishes, thank / you for your help / John. " Nice inscription, especially since Follis dedicated the book to his teacher Alvin Lustig on the same page.

9 x 12 hardcover book with 232 pages and 24 pages in full color and 250 black and white illustrations. John Follis studied under Alvin Lustig at the Art Center College of Design. Edited by Sarah Bodine and Susan Davis.

  • The Need Today
  • Human Factors
  • Organizing the Process
  • Planning
  • Design
  • Alphabets and Symbols
  • Typography
  • Designers’ Portfolio includes William Noonan, Design Planning Group, Inc., Patrick Maddux, Massimo Vignelli, James Hill, Kenneth Resen, Douglas Fast, Glenn Monigle, Ivan Chermayeff and Thomas Geismar, Bruce Hopper, Larry Klein (one color spread), Irving Harper, and Philip George (2 color spreads), Deborah Sussman (3 pages of color), Herb Lubalin (one page of color), Marion Sampler (one color spread), Milton Glaser (one page of color), Rudolph de Harak (2 pages of color), Lance Wyman and Bill Cannan, Gerald Reis and Michael Manwaring (2 pages of color), John Follis (4 pages of color), Barbara Stauffacher Solomon (2 pages of color), John Berry, Saul Bass, J. Malcolm Grear, and Chales P. Reay.
  • Graphics, Flags, and Banners
  • Design Development
  • Documentation and Bidding
  • Fabrication
  • Supervision
  • Compensation and Agreements
  • Appendix
  • Glossary
  • Selected Readings
  • Index

Examples include the San Diego Zoo, the Washington D.C. Metro, Weyerhauser, Braniff, MOMA, and Sea World.

Here is the Obituary “John Follis; Headed Graphic Design Firm” by Myrna Oliver published in the LA Times on December 11, 1994: “John V. Follis, graphic designer whose signs and symbols included the logos for the Los Angeles Bicentennial and Disney World, has died. He was 71.

“The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects had planned to present Follis with an honorary membership at a luncheon Thursday. The honor was bestowed posthumously.

“Among the clients for which Follis designed signage and other material are the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Atlantic Richfield Plaza and Security Pacific world headquarters in Los Angeles, Sea World in Florida, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu.

“His artistic ability first earned attention when he won a contest to design a high school class pin. One impressed classmate was the woman who became his wife, the potter and stitchery artist June Follis.

“Follis worked as a laborer at the Wilmington shipyards and became an instructor of physical education in the Navy before turning to design as a vocation. He studied at the Art Center College of Design and CalArts. When he was 32, he became an interior designer at the architectural firm of Welton Becket & Associates.

“In 1960 he set up his own firm with "no clients--just a tremendous desire to take pencil and paper and express myself in graphics and design."

“Specializing in logotypes, trademarks and signs that identify and provide direction in large architectural complexes, his company evolved from John Follis & Associates to Usher-Follis Inc. to the current John Follis Design of Los Angeles.

“Over the years, Follis taught at UCLA, Cal State L.A. and the Art Center College of Design, and served as art director for Arts & Architecture magazine and the American Crayon Publication.

“Examples of his work are displayed in the Smithsonian Institution's graphic arts hall in Washington. Follis has also had exhibits at the Pasadena Art Museum, the La Jolla Museum of Art, New York's Whitney Museum of American Art and Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art. Solo retrospective exhibits were staged at Cal State L.A. in 1974 and Pasadena City College in 1981.”

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