#graphis magazine

[stone-cold-groove]

Graphis magazine - Issue 82, 1959. Kurt Wirth, artist.

[70sscifiart]

1970 cover to design magazine Graphis, issue 148. Designed by Fritz Gottschalk

[uwmspeccoll]

Decorative Sunday

I had some internal debate about whether these pages from the first Graphis Annual really fit with our Decorative Sunday theme. If we consider the most general definition of decorative arts: the creation of objects that are both beautiful and functional, there is certainly plenty of overlap between commercial design and decorative arts.

Walter Herdeg and Dr. Walter Amstutz, the editors of the bi-montly Graphis Magazine (founded 1944), introduced the annual publication with the ‘52/53 edition, featured here, as a place to feature material that didn’t fit into the structure of the magazine. In their words:

“They intend not only to create in Graphis Annual a ready pictorial reference volume for designers, advertisers, advertising agents and prints, but hope to present a book which can be used to great advantage by teachers of technical colleges and students, and trust that the surveys leading into each section, together with the detailed captions, will assist in the achievement of this purpose. The layout of the Annual should in itself serve as an example of clear arrangement and display.”

Under the direction of Herdeg, the text of the Annual was produced in English, French, and German. The European edition of the Annual was published by Amstutz & Herdeg in Zurich. We hold the American edition, published in New York by Pellegrini & Cudahy (which merged with Farrar, Straus and Young in April of 1953). Herdeg was responsible for the book design, with text provided by Charles Rosner. Herdeg would become sole publisher in 1962, and would pass on publishing responsibilities to his lawyer son, Marcel Herdeg, so he could focus totally on the design aspects of the Graphis Inc. family of publications. 

As much as some might be tempted to thumb their nose at commercial art, we live in a graphic society and, given that, I would rather the graphic inundation we face on a daily basis be aesthetically interesting! Plus, artists have to eat and pay rent like the rest of us, and many a fine artist has paid their dues in commercial endeavors. 

Explore more Decorative Sunday posts here. 

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[designbooksmilano]

Graphis Japan

Visual Art and Graphic in Japan Werbekunst und Design in Japan Arts visuels et design au Japon

Graphis Press, New York 1968, 190 pages

euro 90,00

email if you want to buy :[email protected]

Issue 138/139 of Graphis magazine is a special double issue all about Design in Japan. It starts with an Editor’s Note from Editor In Chief Walter Herdeg and an Introduction by Masaru Katzumie, and includes articles on: Katachi-Traditional Japanese Pattern and Design, written by Y. Kamekura; Japanese Family Crests, by Yusaku Kamekura; Japanese Design Education, by Richard S. Thornton; Japan’s Younger Generation of Designers, by Ikko Tanaka; Advertising Art in Japan Today, by Yusaku Kamekura; Japanese Advertising Photography, by Shigene Kanamaru; Packaging Design in Japan, by Kazumasa Nagai; Display Art in Japan, by Kyoshi Awazu; Editorial Art in Japan, by Hiromu Hara; and Industrial Design in Japan, by Masaru Katzumie.

Fantastic 1968 special double issue of the "international journal of graphic and applied art" featuring the design of Japan. Features hundreds of striking examples of sixties modern Japanese graphic and industrial design, as well as beautiful depictions of traditional Japanese design. Features on traditional Japanese pattern and design; Japan's younger generation of designers; advertising art and photography in Japan today; packaging art, display art, editorial art, and industrial design in Japan. An amazing, comprehensive review of sixties modernist design in Japan. Stunning cover by Walter Herdeg.

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[stone-cold-groove]

Graphis magazine - Issue 148, 1970. Fritz Gottschalk, artist.

[stone-cold-groove]

Graphis magazine - Issue 46, 1953. Yusaku Kamekura, artist.

[stone-cold-groove]

Graphis magazine - Issue 73, 1957. Le Corbusier, artist.

[stone-cold-groove]

Graphis magazine - Issue 98, 1961. Heiri Steiner, artist.