“Does she or doesn’t she?” – the famous Clairol question. Coined in 1955 by Shirley Polykoff, then just beginning her 18-year stint at Foote Cone & Belding, this controversial line was the start of many Polykoff phrases that became part of the vernacular of hair coloring. The original double entendre caused much concern first within…

Hollywood cinematographer James Wong Howe once said, “Never state what can be implied.” This certainly holds true for modern Japanese communication and design. The Japanese, being culturally homogenous, need not articulate everything in order to be understood. They believe in more indirect and abstract forms of expression. Shigeo Fukuda is Japan’s consummate visual communicator. His…

Sheila Metzners unique photographic style has positioned her as a contemporary master in the worlds of fine art, fashion, portraiture, still life and landscape photography. Looking at Metzners photographs is a captivating experience. Innocent, sensual, and sexual, each photo, regardless of subject, exhibits and elicits deep emotion. It is nearly impossible to just glance at…

Seymour Chwast’s favorite building is the Chrysler, and his favorite bird is the cassowary. The selection of the first is self-explanatory; the second demands closer study for revelation. The cassowary is a giant among birds, a self-effacing bird, but very fleet of foot. And it can disable a man with a single thrust. Its upper…

After all the honors and recognition, Bass view of himself and his work remains characteristically uncluttered. “There is nothing glamorous in what I do. I’m a working man. Perhaps I’m luckier than most in that I receive considerable satisfaction from doing useful work which I, and sometimes others, think is good.” From the very beginning…

“I believe that there are very few artists in our time who have created as memorable a series of designs and objects. Saul truly shaped the vision of our time.” —Milton Glaser, 1996 Saul Bass was one of the great figures of twentieth century design and filmmaking. Born in the Bronx, he enjoyed a sixty-year…

In 1968, a year after Scali, McCabe was founded, Sam Scali was asked what his goals were. His answer was unequivocal: “To be the best ad agency in the world.” Millions of dollars in billings later and with much acclaim for creativity bestowed on the agency from all sides of the communications industry, if asked…

Ruth Ansel, art director, designer, and lecturer has collaborated for over four decades with photographers, illustrators and artists such as Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, Peter Beard, Bruce Weberand Annie Leibovitz. She was the youngest co-art director of Harpers Bazaar magazine in the 60s. She then went on to art direct The New York Times Magazine…

Located in an old, converted Greenwich Village loft, Rudolph de Harak’s studio is bright, airy and very spacious. What hits you immediately as you step in is that everything is white and uncluttered. Much like a blank sheet of paper on de Harak’s desk, it is pristine and prepared to leap into the realm of…

The Type Directors Club has announced that Rubén Fontana has been chosen as the recipient of the coveted TDC Medal for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the field of typography. The award presentation will be held Wednesday, November 18, 2020. Rubén Fontana was born in Buenos Aires in 1942. He began his career in…