Hard Werken was initially a Rotterdam based design company specializing in design publications. The original group of designers consisted of Rick Vermeulen, Willem Kars, Gerard Hadders, Henk Elenga and Ton van der Haspel in 1979. Their first official publication was called One For All in which they took an approach towards the pressures and opportunities…
*Image found on: https://alchetron.com/Herbert-Horne Herbert Horne, born in London in 1864, was raised by an architect, Horace, and his mother, Hannah. While coming of age, Horne looked up to his father and chose to follow in his artistic footsteps; he began a partnership at a young age with an esteemed architect, Mackmurdo, who set out…
In 1952 Franco Grignani had partnered with A & L, a printing and advertising company that gave him unprecedented freedom with his designs. During this partnership, a pharmaceutical company called Dompé asked Grignani to do a series of advertisements for them, because they valued his work so much. The owner of Dumpé (coincidentally also named…
The 1960’s proved to be a historic decade for Helmut Krone and his many innovative advertising designs. The above ad was published in LIFE magazine on January 10th, 1964 [1]. Following his iconic “Think Small” campaign for Volkswagen, Krone had found continuous success in simple, straight to the point designs. Krone’s relationship with Volkswagen began…
Above: This is a sculpture representing what Medusa from Greek mythology would have looked like; created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1630. The meaning of Medusa’s image has been changed and distorted through the centuries as different regions of the world have taken in her image and used it to convey their own meanings and…
Since the late 1970s, an image of a rainbow or a rainbow color scheme has been near synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community. Due to the incorporation of the rainbow on the Pride Flag which is often used to represent the community, the rainbow color scheme is a trope often used in media to indicate LGTBQ+…
This cover from TIME Magazine is clever, minimal, and evocative. The simple use of the X’d lines play off of the trope most of this magazine’s audience would understand as crossing off a calendar day/year. Considering that almost everyone in the world has been affected by the Covid-19 crisis during the year 2020, this feels…
Bananas have long been a fascination in pop culture for their bright, distinctive appearance and their ubiquity for Western consumers. They have been utilized in all kinds of lighthearted media as cartoon characters and comedic symbols. They have also often been used in propaganda, advertisements, and arts to represent sexual metaphors and exoticism. The main…
Stars and stripes have represented the united states in many different media forms. Sometimes being portrayed as a positive symbol provoking patriotism, while other times being used as a negative symbol to show other perspectives on America’s actions. The examples I picked that depict this trope show how different forms of media and locations portrayed…
The idea of Lady Columbia first originated in a poem from 1697 by Samuel Sewall who proposed “Columbina” to be the name for the American colonies in honor of Christopher Columbus. It wasn’t until 1775 during the American Revolution war that it gained popularity through a poem written by a black slave, Phillis Wheatley where…
This piece by David Carson in collaboration with Beach Culture magazine in 1990. This certain piece is significant to Carson’s career for multiple reasons. During his time working for Beach Culture, Carson began to gain more attention from the public. Even though Beach Culture only stayed around long enough to publish six issues, this is…
Harumi Yamaguchi worked as the head of advertising for PARCO, a department store chain who’s mission was to “combine retail and creative activity with a consciously female focus.” The copywriter and art director for PARCO’s advertising were also women, further reinforcing the female-centered approach to their marketing strategy. This particular piece, titled Parco, appeared in…
What is it: a 1965 cover of Harper’s Bazaar Designed by: Ruth Ansel, An image of: Jean Shrimpton Photographed by: Richard (Dick) Avedon This cover (and issue) of Harper’s Bazaar is one of Ansel’s most popular and well known. Not only is the cover striking and eye-catching but the backstory is also interesting. Originally,…
From June to December 1989, Gran Fury installed their “Kissing Doesn’t Kill: Greed and Indifference Do” series on the sides of buses in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The series showed three couples – a straight couple, a gay couple, and a lesbian couple – of different races kissing. It was…
Steven Heller is a very influential name in the design world. In addition to graphic design, his works are included in categories such as art critic, author, director, and editor (Famous Graphic Designers). Currently, Heller is credited with author rights on over 60 books. Not only has Steven Heller provided his own influence on the…