THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TYPOGRAPHY
Will Burtin [Designer]
Will Burtin [Designer]: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TYPOGRAPHY [poster title]. New York: The Type Directors Club of New York, 1958. Original edition. Poster machine folded into quarters for mailing [as issued]. Printed in colors recto and verso Mohawk Offset 80 lb. paper. Pinholes and small tears to corners, a couple of neat splits to folds along outer edges, a couple of small chips and general handling wear. Overall, a good or better example of this rare poster.
17.25 x 23.25-inch (43.8 x 59 cm) poster designed by Will Burtin for “an international seminar and exhibition on typographic design at Silvermine, Connecticut, April 26, 1958” sponsored by the Type Directors Club of New York. Poster typography from the Composing Room.
Will Burtin (Germany, 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.