A-D
February – March 1942
Will Burtin,
Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]
Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]: A-D [An Intimate Journal For Art Directors, Production Managers, and their Associates]. New York: The Composing Room/P.M. Publishing Co., Volume 8, No. 3: February-March 1942. Original edition. Slim 12mo. Thick printed perfect bound and sewn wrappers. 74 [26] pp. Illustrated articles and advertisements. Multiple paper stocks. Wraparound covers designs by featured artist and author Will Burtin. Wrappers lightly soiled and rubbed, so a very good or better copy.
5.5 x 7.75 digest with 74 [26] pages of articles including the first appreciation of Burtin to ever be published: Will Burtin; NY Art Directors as Seen by Dugo; Calligrapher's Paradise; Editorial Notes; Books and Pictures; A-D Shorts. And a bound-in copy of Marquardt's DESIGN AND PAPER to boot. Features a 32-page section devoted to the works of Will Burtin, as well as an original cover design by Burtin. This was the first professional recognition of Burtin as a designer to be published. The Burtin section is printed in four-color and presents a tremendous amount of work by the designer.
Will Burtin: a 32-page section. Artwork reproduced in the Will Burtin section includes: Pages & Cover from Scope Magazine (A magazine for the Upjohn Company), Spreads from the Architectural Forum (inc. Section from the Design Decade issue), Envelope and Cover design for Scope Magazine #2, Booklet covers, Advertisements, Federal Works Agency Exhibit, Exhibitions, Christmas Cards for LIFE and FORTUNE, Exhibition at Pratt, featuring work by Will Burtin's students; Card announcing show, and more.
A-D Shorts mention: Max Glick, Hans Moller, L. Moholy-Nagy, Gyorgy Kepes, Robert J. Wolff, Maxwell Desser, Irving B. Simon
Includes a bound-in copy of DESIGN AND PAPER NUMBER 8 [1942]: A fine 4.75 x 7.75, 16-page fine softcover paper promotional booklet saddle-stitched with uncoated covers promoting the various lines of Marquardt papers. The design and printing of each issue mee the highest production standards of the day. This issue features the trademark design of Clarence P. Hornung.
Listing of Advertisements: Frederick Photogelatine Press, Inc.; Strathmore Paper Co.; The Composing Room; Crafton Co.; Pioneer - Moss Inc.; Flower Electrotypes; Ludlow Typograph; Wilbar Photo Engraving Co.; Marquardt and Co., Inc. Fine Papers.
Will Burtin (1909 -1972) studied typography and design at the Cologne Werkschule, then practiced design in Germany before emigrating to the US in 1938. He worked for the US Army Air Force designing graphics and exhibitions before becoming Art Director of Fortune magazine in 1945. His work for Fortune was marked by innovative solutions to presenting complex information in graphically understandable ways. In 1949 he established his own firm. Among his clients were the Upjohn Company, Union Carbide, Eastman Kodak and The Smithsonian Institution. Burtin's great genius was in his ability to visualize complex scientific and technological information. He created several award winning exhibitions including the 1958 model of a human blood cell. Burtin believed that through his work he could become the "communicator, link, interpreter and inspirer" who is able to make scientific knowledge comprehensible.
Burtin developed a design philosphy called Integration, in which the designer conveyed information with visual communication that is based on four principal realities:
the reality of man as measure and measurer
the reality of light, color, texture
the reality of space, motion, time
the reality of science
Using this approach to design problems was essentially the birth of what later became known as multimedia. By integrating all four realities into a design solution, Burtin could solve seemingly insoluble puzzles.
The mid to late 40s saw Burtin expand his role in professional organizations, serving as Director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). In 1948, Burtin's Integration: The New Discipline in Design exhibit opened at the Composing Room in New York City. In the introduction to the exhibition, designer Serge Chermayeff stated: "This new art of 'visualization,' of giving visual form in two or three dimensions to a message, is the product of a new kind of artist functionary evolved by our complex society. This artist possesses the inclusive equipment of liberal knowledge, scientific and technical experience, and artisticability . . . Among the small band of pioneers who have developed this new language by bringing patient research and brilliant inventiveness to their task is Will Burtin."
Most noteworthy, Burtin served for 22 years as both Upjohn's design consultant and art director of its in-house publication, Scope. His work on Scope continued his use of graphics and imagery in communicating complicated journal text. He worked to create a unique corporate identity for Upjohn, a new concept at the time. For Upjohn, Burtin produced some of the most celebrated exhibits of his career: the Cell, the Brain, and Inflammation: Defense of Life. These immensely popular walk-in exhibits provided a clear, visual interpretation of abstract scientific processes.
Clarence Pearson Hornung [1899 -1997] was a prolific American trademark and industrial graphic designer and illustrator who studied at City College and at Columbia University. He was a designer for American Type Foundry and a member of the Society of Designers for Industry in New York City. In addition to designing several hundred trademarks, package designs and industrial designs, he designed book bindings for such clients as Harper's, Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. Wolff, Limited Editions Club, Encyclopedia Britannica, Heritage Press and DuPont. He created colophons for many contemporary publishers including the Book League of America, Farrar & Rinehart and Vanguard Press.
PM magazine was the leading voice of the U. S. Graphic Arts Industry from its inception in 1934 to its end in 1942 (then called AD). As a publication produced by and for professionals, it spotlighted cutting-edge production technology and the highest possible quality reproduction techniques (from engraving to plates). PM and A-D also championed the Modern movement by showcasing work from the vanguard of the European Avant-Garde well before this type of work was known to a wide audience.