A. M. Cassandre | by Breton Pinkham

A. M. CASSANDRE

THE MULTI-TALENTED FRENCH DESIGNER A. M. CASSANDRE

A. M. Cassandre is a designer, typographer, and painter, born in 1901 in Ukraine to French parents.

He moved to Paris where he studied at l’École des Beaux-Arts and at the Académie Julian.

His range of artwork varies greatly, each one seeming to have their own influences on each other.

He has a nice painterly feeling on his posters, and a peculiar looseness of some of his typeface designs.

1941 1930 1933

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He is best known for creating the logo and typeface for the famous fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent. While that may presently be his most recognized creation, he spent most of his life creating posters as a commercial artist.

He was successful enough in his poster designs that he created his own advertising company called Alliance Graphique, with the help of some partners.

Later on he taught at both École des Arts Décoratifs and at École d’Arts Graphique.

Yves Saint Laurent logotype designed 1963

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THE FLAT BUT EXPANSIVE WORLD OF CASSANDRE’S POSTERS

Cassandre’s use of geometry, shading, and silhouettes in shapes is what makes his poster design unique. These shapes almost always had a textured appearance, while using gradients and hard edges to create layering and depth. All of these factors of his poster design makes his work easily identifiable, and that is a significance worth noticing.

His poster design was mainly commercial, vit was created for advertising purposes. The posters he created were for a wide range of companies, from wine (Dubonnet) to train services (Nord Express).

Nord Express (North Express), a train service operated all around Europe.

Poster designed 1927.

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Dubonnet, a red wine company that is still in production today. Poster designed 1932.

is to be viewed “onA Poster the street. It should

integrate architectural groups and enrichen the spreading facades. It should enliven not the individual advertisement board or building, but rather the huge blocks of stone and the vast area as a whole” –A. M. Cassandre

S.S. Atlantique, the largest ocean liner on a Europe-South America run from 1931–1933.

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Acier Noir, designed 1935

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Peignot, designed 1937

Bifur, designed 1929

Yves Saint Laurent logotype designed 1963

TYPOGRAPHIE PAR A. M. CASSANDRE

His typography design was less abundant than his posters, however, the designs were much more varied in style. As was mentioned earlier, he created the still famous monogram for the fashion designer and company Yves Saint Laurent. It’s a logotype, so it’s not technically a completed typeface.

Most of his type design is seen in his posters, but he has created complete typefaces. Some of these include Bifur, Peignot, and Acier Noir. By observing the aesthetic of his fonts, you can quickly see the range of styles.

There are differences in weight, height, and curvature, as well as similarities. To see the full range of his typography work, you should pay attention to the type design in his posters.

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“Modern man is always in a rush—rushing whither, one wonders? The fact remains,

he’s in a hurry, he’s rushed and impatient. He hasn’t got the time to split hairs. What impresses him is the short cut, the rapid sketch, the straight line. He prefers violence to strength, shouting to conversation, a quick lay to love, Coca Cola to Château Margaux. This is why he likes posters sahd why advertising may perhaps be his truest expression.”

–A. M. Cassandre

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Bifur Font.” Bifur Font.

Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.fonts2u.com/ bifur.font.

Devroye, Luc. “Have Fun with Fonts.” Have Fun with Fonts. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://luc.devroye. org/fonts-51942.html.

“File:Cassandre Peignot. svg.” - Wikimedia Commons. March 15, 2012.

Accessed April 18, 2016. https://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Cassandre_ Peignot.svg.

“A. M. Cassandre.”

Pinterest. Accessed April 18, 2016. https://www. pinterest.com/josepgil/a-mcassandre/.

Mouron, Roland.

“Cassandre.” Cassandre.

2000. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www. cassandre-france.com/ index.html.

“Cassandre (artist).”

Wikipedia. Accessed April 18, 2016. https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Cassandre_(artist).

Mouron, Roland.

“A.M.CASSANDRE.” Cassandre. 2000.

Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.cassandrefrance.com/amcassandre/ portrait-amcassandre.html.

“Peignot (typeface).”

Wikipedia. Accessed April 18, 2016. https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Peignot_(typeface).

“Yves Saint Laurent Logo | Logok.” Logok. 2014.

Accessed April 18, 2016. http://logok.org/yves-saintlaurent-logo/.

Designed and written by Breton Pinkham Composed in Arial and Arial Narrow, typefaces designed by a 10-person team led by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders in 1982 Printed from a Toshiba printer onto Hammermill 8# cover.

Copyright © 2016 Breton Pinkham, Portland, Maine, Maine College of Art