Cassandre

I was lucky enough back in London to find this book about the life and work of A.M. Cassandre in a second hand shop, I didn't hesitate to quickly snap it up and couldn't believe my luck in finding it!

It is actually my dad who introduced me to Cassandre and we both love his work and graphic style. Cassandre's work is instantly recognisable and typified by bold graphic imagery, strong geometric forms and use of typography. Along with designing for theatre and creating typefaces, Cassandre is probably best known for his poster designs and commercial advertisements produced during the 1920's and 1930's. Here he cleverly integrated 'experimental' artforms, in particularly cubism, into his mainstream commercial designs.
Below: 'Borwick's' 1935 (gouache)

The typeface 'Bifur' designed by Cassandre in 1927; simplified geometric characters and the elimination of any solid horizontal or vertical lines that were not completely necessary, filling the left spaces with thin parallel lines.

It was Cassandre who was responsible for the famous logo and typeface for Yves Saint Laurent back in 1963.
Below 'Nord Express' 1927 (oil on wood)

Most people will probably know Cassandre's work from the series of travel posters he designed advertising trains and ships such as the 'Etoile du Nord' and the famous 'Normandie'. These perfectly demonstrate his strong use of geometric forms, integration of text and powerful graphic nature. His clever use of perspective in these posters is a dominating feature, along with simplified colour palette and employment of a lot of black.

Below another design for 'Nord Express' 1927 (lithographic poster)

'L'Atlantique' 1931 (lithographic poster)

'Normandie' 1935 (lithographic poster)

Unfortunately I think the book is sadly out of print now, so worth checking auction sites or ABE books if you want to get hold of a copy.

Decorative lettering

I snapped these pictures of different types of decorative lettering on my recent London visit. I love decoration in any form - and clever use of fonts and typefaces can be extremly eye-catching and decorative in their own right.

The first two pictures were from posters in the East-End advertising Ice Cream - they caught my eye instantly and I loved the simple but strong graphic elements. The 'Toy Theatres' was from a street sign at Covent Garden (very shakspearean!) and the 'No Exit' and 'Way Out' are from original tiles in the tube station at Covent Garden.
And I couldn't have a feature of decorative lettering from London without the famous Underground logo! It's proper name is 'The Roundel' and its distinctive style and font was designed by Edward Johnston in 1913 - and remains in use to this day.

Click here to scroll through some great old photo's featuring the London underground and it's iconic logo.