Alvin Lustig 1915-1955
The thing that caught my attention to Alvin Lustig, is his design was different from what I’m used to seeing. This difference caught my interest and made me want to learn more about his design aspects. For his time his design was new as well, he was often known as “the young man who was doing ‘queer things’ with type”. His designs are unique and fall on the page in a way of effortless rhythm that’s simply pleasing to the eye.
Alvin Lustig is most known for his design work in covers for the publisher of New Directions. When working for New Directions he was given complete artistic freedom in designing the book covers. “Lustig seized this opportunity and developed a distinct, innovative graphic language combining abstract art and modern typography, conceiving a style that we call expressionistic modernism.� His designs differed from the traditional idea design of his time challenging what was known.
“He did not want to be thought of as just another graphic designer� Not just another graphic designer is an inspiring thing to end up being. In the art of graphic design, or any art for that matter, it takes brilliance and hard work to be more than just another designer. Lusting isn’t just another designer, his designs were innovative as the stood out for his time. Along with this he worked with metal type, collage, photo manipulation and adding a bit of an abstract touch to his work.
Lustig’s book cover designs are what first drew my attention to his work but he really is more than just a graphic designer. Along with graphic design he did interior design as well which was surprising to me. Being interested in graphic design and illustration, interior design was a form of art I never really thought of before. Discovering Lustig did interior design as well was intriguing as it’s not something I’d initially pair with graphic design.
Seeing Lustig’s interior Design work along side his graphic design work is quite refreshing. The play with image and space on paper in his design work reflects the way that space works in a well-designed room. This really shows how doing different types of design or art can impact what you do and also improve it. This is another one of Lustig’s work aspects that set him apart from being “just another graphic designer”.
Shinning brightly most when given full creativity, Alvin Lustig was a modern designer. His desire to experiment with multiple different things in his design produced a large amount of intriguing and new work. His play with type, photo, pattern, and collage are what made his work so striking. Simple yet complex his graphic design was one of the markers of modern design, especially for his time. His work speaks for itself more than I can describe. From his book covers to his advertisements to his packages to his interior design, Alvin Lustig was “Born Modern�.
Bibliography “Alvin Lustig.” AGIA Accessed April 10. http://www.aiga. org/medalist-alvinlustig/ “Alvin Lustig.”, Modern American Design Pioneer 19151955. Access April 2, 2015. http://www.alvinlustig.com Heller, Steven and Elaine Lustig Cohen. Born Modern: The Life And Work of Alvin Lustig. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2010.
Designed and written By Melissa Laurencelle Composed in Superclaredon typeface Designed by Ray Larabie Copy right © Melissa Laurencelle Portland Maine, Maine College of Art