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y definition, graphic design is the art or act of using design elements such as typography and images to convey information or create an effect. It can be argued that graphic design and especially illustration has their start in cave paintings almost 20,000 years ago. Much has changed in art since then, but one thing that remains the same is the importance of conveying a clear message through imagery. One design studio that did this extremely well was Push Pin Studios. The idea of Push Pin started in 1950 at The Cooper Union, where a group of design
students were looking to make a little extra money doing what they studied and loved. This group was willing to spend nights after school and design a little bit more after hours, all with one dream in their mind. In a loft on 13th Street, Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins started this part job that was called Design Plus. But they never imagined what a phenomenon it would eventually become. Through projects like The Push Pin Almanack, Push Pin Studios derived their inspiration form past artistic styles to speak to the issues of their times and in the process changed the industry and inspired a new generation of designers.
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THE PUSHPIN ALMANACK The whole Design Plus team graduated from The Cooper Union in 1951 and soon found jobs. Seymour Chwast at The New York Times, Ed Sorel at the William D. MacAdams Advertising Agency, 6
Reynold Ruffins at the Tony Martin Studio and Milton Glaser at Vogue Magazine before he received a grant to study printmaking in Bologna, Italy. When Glaser returned to the U.S. in 1952, he discovered that Seymour, Reynold and Ed had been working together on promoting their works as illustrators with the Push Pin Almanack, a small, brochure-like, mailing piece that was very effective in getting their audience’s attention. The main goal of the Almanack was self-promotion in order to generate more freelance work. Six issues of the Almanack were published and distributed before Push Pin Studios became official and nine were put out later.
This entire spread: Push Pin Studios, The Push Pin Almanack, 1953-1955
One day in 1954, everything changed. All of a sudden Seymour, Ed and Milton had an idea to start their own studio. They knew that this was not going to be easy and that they would be giving up their current prestigious jobs, but they went with their gut, and decided to open The Push Pin Studios as their entrepreneurial project. They kept the “s” at the end of “Studio” because they liked the pretentious sound. At the end of the day, it is important to remember that they were only young adults trying to do what they loved on a daily basis. They did not have any business administration or management skills, their only and main focus was design.
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THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE PUSHPIN The artists of Push Pin Studios are pioneers because they were the first ones to combine typography, design, and illustration into a single practice. Push Pin Studios crossed the boundaries and they were the ones responsible for turning art into advertising, which meant business. According to design historian Steven Heller, “Push Pin Studios was like The Beatles of illustration during the fifties, sixties and seventies.” This success was due to 8
their ability to seek out inspiration. And even though Push Pin Studios was known for and its reputation was based on the fact that they constantly crossed the borders of traditionalism in order to create their own essence and movement, they were still inspired by movements that came before them. The Push Pin team drew inspiration from the Victorian era, Art Noveau, and Art Deco and yet, they managed to create their own look. Harold Hayes, the editor and critic, wrote in the New York Times Magazine that “Push Pin prompted revivals not only in graphic design, but also in interior decorating, fashion, and furnishing as well.”
Left and top right: Push Pin Studios, Fashion, 1978
PUSHPIN AS A SOCIAL MOVEMENT Even though the artists at Push Pin Studios were young, they still had a lot to say and they were going to make sure they were heard. Of course Push Pin Studios was known for its unique art, but it was also known for the social movements that it was supporting. Southern Justice piece was designed by Chwast, who was a supporter of the civil rights movement. For this piece, he published songs and photos of some of this movement’s victims and perforated them in the head. This definitely made a strong statement in the graphic design world. End Bad Breath, also by Chwast, is an anti-war woodcut of Uncle Sam with his mouth open inside which bombers are dropping their load on Vietnam. Top: Seymour Chwast, End Bad Breath,1968 Bottom: Seymour Chwast, The South, 196
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“IF YOU’RE DIGGIN A HOLE IN TH WRONG PLAC MAKING DEEPE DOESN’T HE ANYTHING _Seymo Chwa
NG HE CE, IT ER ELP G.� our ast
THE PUSH PIN EFFECT Because the 1950s were a conflict-ridden era in the United States, illustration tended to be very literal, dark and negative. Post-war corporate design was very predictable and driven by a limited selection of typefaces and templates used for business reports and sign systems. In this era, Helvetica was overly used in products and signs across the nation, which made the public very indifferent towards advertising, typography and graphic design in general. These are some of the reasons why Push Pin Studios decided to sprinkle their design with as many quirks as possible in order to break that status quo. Push Pin Studios’ designs and illustrations
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were very conceptual and metaphorical. This was something that the audience was not used to and which made them stand out from all the other graphic artists. They broke as many rules as possible to give design a more positive look. Because it was time to discover new things and set new trends, the artists decided that their overall look in their designs needed to be bright, colorful, and young-spirited. Push Pin believed that with their designs, even if it was just a brochure, they could really make a significant difference in the well-being of a society which desperately needed it.
Seymour Chwast, Push Pin Butcher, 1981
PUSH PIN STUDIOS AS A LEGACY Push Pin Studios was considered a trendsetter when it
Artist are still getting inspiration from the Push Pin Studios
comes to graphic design. The way they thought about
original artists up to this day. One example, is the talented
graphic design, illustration and typography was something
Olimpia Zagnoli, an Italian designer that has among her
very different from what people were used to in that era.
list of clients companies like The New York Times, Marie
Some of the original artists from Push Pin Studios are still
Claire, Rolling Stone and many others. Zagnoli, has a very
creating amazing art. Reynold Ruffins is still painting and
similar illustration style as Glaser. Where her illustrations
having exhibits all over the country. Glaser, on the other
seem to be very simple, but yet clean, elegant and most
hand, is still designing. He recently designed the cover
importantly, efficient.
for AIGA 100 years or design. And Chwast also designed recently the cover of the Sunday New York Times Review 12
Section.
Top: Olimpia Zagnoli, Missoni Baia, 2016 Right: Milton Glaser, Holiday, 1967 Opposite: Milton Glaser, Mad Men, 2014
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