Bradbury Thompson Eben Ejdne s3870100
Born in Kansas, USA, in 1911, Bradbury Thompson would go on to become one of the most influential and important figureheads and role-models of 20th century graphic design. Thompson was a designer like no other, blending modernist typography with classic typefaces and historic illustrations in a spectacular manner. A rare recipient of the three major design awards of the time (AIGA Medal in 1975, inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1977 and awarded the Type Director’s Club Medal in 1986), he was admired within the industry, and was a great teacher and guide. This booklet is an exploration of Thompson’s visual language, inspired by some of his greatest achievements and work.
1
2
W
e
s
t
Inspiration for Printers 3
v
a
(1939-62)
c
o
Thompson was particularly known for his book and magazine design, particularly his work for Westvaco Inspirations for Printers. The promotional booklet, meant to showcase Westvaco Corporation’s printing papers, demonstrated Thompson’s ability to expand the limits of typography, design and art over the 61 issues he designed.
4
Within these publications, Thompson featured his experimental typeface Alphabet 26 (pictured above). above). It consolidated upper- and lowercase letters, and was shown in Westcavo Inspiration for Printers editions 180 (1950), 213 (1960), and 217 (1962).
5
6
7
120
96
84
A
BC
DEF
120
96
84
72
GHIJK
72
60
LMNOP
60
48
QRSTU
48
36
VWXYZ
36
30
01234
30
24
56789
24
14
Times LT Std
14
8
9
120
96
84
72
60
48
36 30 24 14
T
RU
MPI
SAMU
RDERE RLIAR CHEAT 01234
120
96
84
72
60
48
36 30
56789
24
Adobe Caslon Pro
14
10
11
^
I
I
II 12
wo
rld
!w
d l r o ! world orld! w !w
Gl b l Global
orld
! d l r o w !
w o
113 3
or l d ! w o r l d!
rld ! w
worl d !
d l r wo
! d l r o !w
“ Type is a thing of constant interest to me. In
Anatomy
short, type can be a tool, a toy, and a teacher.
It can provide a means of livelihood, a hobby for relaxation, an intellectual stimulant — and a spiritual satisfaction. I believe an avid interest in type necessarily includes a zest for everyday life.
”
14
One of Thompson’s most recognizable visual motifs was his use of CMYK process colours in bold and graphic shapes, elegantly blended with historical illustrations, fun phrases and always tied together beautifully with a strong, yet playful, use of typography.
15
! g an
b
! m s i r p
! g n a b
shoot
!? bang
!
ba
ng
ba
!
ba
ng
ng
!
! 16
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the wind be always at your back.
17
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
18
agai n,
meet
And until w e
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
19
Left - interpretation of the first page of Thompson’s Washburn College Bible
Holy Bible One of Thompson’s crowning achievements was his extraordinary 1800-page three-volume Washburn College Bible, published in 1979 after 10 years in the making. Widely considered as the most monumental and innovative reassessment of bible typography since Gutenberg, his concept was to make the text more accessible to readers and reflect the poetic language of the translators through typographic design.
1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”
7
So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.
8
God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.
10
God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
12
The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
13
And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
15
and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17
God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
20
21
“S” stands for stamp
T
hompson was a prolific postage stamp designer, producing over 90 stamps over his career. He received his first commission from the United States Postal Service in 1958 and was appointed to the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee in 1969, a position that he held for 19 years, which afforded him the opportunity to guide stamp designs by other artists. Designed in 1984, the “Love” stamp (left page: bottom left) was a part of the popular series of religious and secular Christmas stamps that Thompson had been designing since 1970. I’ve taken the liberty to design an updated version, celebrating the same message Thompson created.
22
References Cover page – inspired by Bradbury Thompson: The Art of Graphic Design pp 1-2 – Image adapted from portrait available in AIGA (https://www.aiga.org/medalist-bradbury-thompson) pp 3-4 – Spread from Bradbury Thompson Westvaco Inspiration for Printers No.194, 1953 p 7 – Image sourced from Prince Akachi, Unsplash (https:// unsplash.com/photos/J1OScm_uHUQ) p 9 - Library of Congress, Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/ photos/jPN_oglAjOU) p 17 – Poem is from “A Prayer for Travellers” – Anon p 21 – Stamp image sourced from AIGA (https://www.aiga. org/medalist-bradbury-thompson) All etchings are public domain, sourced from British Library Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/) Information on Bradbury Thompson sourced from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) <https://www. aiga.org/medalist-bradbury-thompson> and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) <https://www.rit.edu/ carycollection/bradbury-thompson>