Lester Beall
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Beall’s Utility of Design Elements
Seeing the Elements
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Silhouetted photography
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Lester Beall
1903–1969
Beall Presenting a project to one of his clients, International Paper Company, 1960.
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A Better Home, 40” x 30″, 1937.
A New Kind of American Designer Lester Beall was an acclaimed 20th century graphic designer. In fact, he was given the first one-man exhibit for a graphic designer at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in 1937. Beall was influenced by European avant-garde and had a large role in introducing a way of seeing design to American businesses and the field of graphic design. The avant-garde had a new spontaneous and free expression that had never been seen in commercial illustrations beforehand. Beall began to let avant-garde paintings, such as Henri Matisse’s work, influence his design and helped introduce graphic design as a fine art. His designs linked emotion with the messages. At times, these emotional designs did not shy away from delivering political messages. Lester Beall was one of the first graphic designers to work in designing and marketing posters with government funding. He defined a graphic designer as a position that is for a professional problem solver who can deal with budgets and marketing. Ultimately, the most interesting fact about Lester Beall is that he had the capability of expressing a large variety of styles in his designs, but they can all be broken down to fundamental elements that included dynamic and angled forms, strong contrasts, iconic arrows, an integration of photography, in addition to a sense of layering compositions or forms. These elements contributed to emotional expression and reaction.
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“3 requirements for a good designer: 1. genuine knowledge and love of great design. 2. sound knowledge of principles and techniques of communication. 3. heart (passion).”
Above: Cover for PM magazine, 5 3/8” x 7 7/8”, 1937. Left: Cover for What’s New, 9 3/4” x 12 1/2”, 1939.
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“As graphic designers of today’s printed page, long dependent upon means of communication, we should envision ourselves as the inevitable architects of future revolutionary systems of communication”
“The designer must work with one goal in mind—to integrate the elements in such a manner that they... will convey not merely a static commercial message, but an emotional reaction.” 7
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Pages 8 & 9 (left and right): Cross Out Slums, 39 1/2” x 29 1/8”, 1944. CG CG CG (Conneticut General), 23” x 23”, 1959.
Fundamentals at Work
Left to right: Running Water, 40” x 30”, 1937. Wash Day, 40” x 30”, 1937. Rural Electrification Administration, 40” x 30″, 1937.
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“Will There be War” promotion for Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, 10 7/8” x 13 1/2”, 1939.
“Hitler’s Nightmare,” promotion for Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, 10 5/8” x 13 1/2”, 1939.
All of the elements that Beall had become a master at are evident in his works, such as projects for the Rural Electrification Administration, Collier’s, and Scope. The Rural Electrification Administration has many of Beall’s iconic arrows and use of photography or silhouettes layered on contrasting colors. “Will There Be War” seizes the chance to have dynamic text at interesting angles and a smaller photograph placed over a large and brightly colored hand print. Meanwhile, “Hitler’s Nightmare” expresses the fear that Hitler created with many arrows pointing to the man himself and a bright red color throughout the composition. Works for Scope are prime examples of all of Beall’s design fundamentals he used for expression. He described them as an “epitome of a designer’s desire for freedom of expression.”
“Cancer,” cover for Scope magazine, 9” x 11 1/4”, 1948. Cover for Scope magazine, 9” x 11 1/4”, 1948. Scope #12, cover for Scope magazine, 9” x 11 1/4”,
Clockwise from top: Scope Volume 2 #6, cover for Scope, 9” x 11 1/4”,1948. “Cancer,” cover for Scope magazine, 9” x 11 1/4”, 1948. Cover for Scope magazine, 9” x 11 1/4”, 1948. Scope #12, cover for Scope magazine, 9” x 11 1/4”, 1948
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Designed and written by Donovan Mooney Composed in Arial, typefaces designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders in 1982 Printed from a Toshiba e-STUDIO3555c printer onto Hammermill 80lb. Copyright © 2016 Donovan Mooney, Portland, Maine, Maine College of Art
Sources AIGA. “1992 AIGA Medalist: Lester Beall.” AIGA. 1993. Accessed April 13, 2016. http://www. aiga.org/medalist-lesterbeall/. “Lester Beall.” ADC • Global Awards & Club. Accessed April 13, 2016. http://adcglobal.org/hallof-fame/lester-beall/. Remington, R. Roger, Lester Beall: Trailblazer of American Graphic Design. W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1996.
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