One of the many iconic print design works by John Massey was the piece he created for the Container Corporation of America as part of their Chicago Cultural Communication project. This piece was cutting edge at the time in more ways than one. Firstly, in the late 60’s it was rare for a large corporation to sponsor such an ambitious and community-oriented project. Massey used this opportunity to introduce a perfect minimal masterpiece. The linear plots and negative lines within the diamond represent baseball diamond and tennis courts, activities that pertained to the communities. The blue rectangle suggests a mass of water and if flipped over becomes the sky over the embrace of two people. Chicago sits on lake Michigan, and remains an important landmark border for the city. The bottom of the print reads “run jump play look walk think dream” a friendly reminder to remain active, which was the platform for the campaign. In terms of design, this piece is textbook Swiss inspiration. The geometric objects that fill the center are complemented by the subtle text at the bottom. The wording is in Sans Serif style with all lower-case letters. Massey received commendation for this work and many others when he was Creative Director for the CCA and still remains an important figure in Chicago, consulting with major companies on graphic design ideas through his research group. With this particular work, Massey figured out a way to tie in so many creative elements using a minimal and beautiful piece.

 

Flatmade. “Lincoln Park.” Flatmade, www.flatmade.com/product/lincoln-park.