History of Design: December 2012

Inside Flap, Back Cover, Front Cover

Inside Spread

Click for full size

I wasn't sure what size the pamphlet should be but since we aren't printing them I went with the size I'm most comfortable at, which is a regular 11x8.5 page. So when folded this pamphlet would be the size of a regular sheet of paper.

You may notice that it's still in Lorem Ipsum - that's because I needed to lay it all out and make sure 1600 words would actually FIT in my design (because I had underestimated how many words that actually is.)

This design came out of my very first sketch, which came to me rather quickly so I'm pretty pleased it came out so nicely! I don't really consider myself a graphic designer, I'm glad it wasn't too difficult to put this together.

Still needed:

Actual text about Will Bradley.

Subtle credits on the images that tell you the title and year they were done.

Done:

Layout with 8 9 images (including 2 close-ups on the back cover and inside flap)

Making sure 1600 words fits in the composition (it's tight, but the answer is yes)

Adding something cool to my portfolio - I'll try to find higher resolution images in case I ever want to actual print this out.

EDIT: Here are the written words copied straight from the psd file, sorry about the weird spacing, it's 3 AM so I'm way too tired to go get rid of all the enter-presses I had to do to get the text to wrap around curves. Just pretend it's poetry. This is about 975 words or so.

"      Art Nouveau was the art movement that precipitated modern design and took over America and Europe at the end of the 19th century. It was a reaction against academic art, embracing the beauty found in natural and organic forms, simplifying them to
elegent shapes and lines. Figures, natural objects, and architecture flow together nearly seamlessly. It‘s influence is found in
architecture, furniture, and painting - but it mostly advanced graphic arts like posters, advertisements, and covers of books and periodicals. This was the art movement in which these artistic elements began to be regarded more seriously - painting was not the only fine art anymore. Art Nouveau proved that art could be designed for a commercial purpose without losing it‘s status as a fine piece of art. Inspiration for the style of Art Nouveau came largely from European fascination with Japanese woodcut prints, which often depict a fluidity of line, flat portions of color, and excellent composition.
A key example
of the commericial
uses of the movement
is in book covers. In the
past, books had been an
item only the very rich
could afford, and for them
it usually had expensive and
personalized leather binding.
When books became a commodity
that the middle class could    afford,
a need arose for a cheaper way to
bind books that could be mass-
produced. It began with simple cloth
covers. They quickly became more elaborate,
gaining decorative edges or embellishments, all
with the intention of catching a buyer‘s eye.

    As Art Nouveau became a part of popular culture,
having similar art on the cover of books seemed like
a no-brainer. Publishers began hiring illustrators to
create book covers. The solid sections of color suited the
printing industry and simplified mass-production. This new style of art was eye-catching and crowd-pleasing, making it a perfect way to sell products, tickets, books, and whatever else they could commission art for.

    Art Nouvea was one of thos few movements that transcended from being an art movement discussed by intellectuals to being an art movement seen and appreciated by the common man. The poster as a medium was one seen by everyone, or at least that was its purpose. Art Nouveau was welcomed by all realms of the world because it was visually appealing, commercially effective, and artistically progressive.

The movement
had a universal and distinctive
method of working, but it was also influenced by the
individual styles of various artists. Alphonse Mucha is widely considered the first Art Nouveau artist, with his poster advertisement Gismonda being known as the first New Art poster. It was a piece promoting a play by the same name in Paris, and the style of it quickly captured the minds of Parisian citizens. There was something about it that the people just couldn‘t get enough of. A short list of other artists‘ work that could be considered Art Nouveau includes Gustav Klimt and Charles Mackintosh.

     Will Bradley was born in Boston on the day of July 10, 1968. His father died when he was a young age, and his family moved. Bradley was completely self-taught and had no academic background in art, but on his second attempt to find a job in Chicago he became an illustrator and compositor for Kight and Leonard at only 18 years old. Just a few years later, when he was 21, he left the company with ambitions of becoming a successful freelance artist. His early works during this period were typical of his entire body of work - mostly advertisements, illustrations, and book covers. By 1894, when the Art Nouveau movement was finding it‘s legs and being named, he produced The Twins for the cover of The Chap-Book. It was later produced as a poster and became regarded as the first American Art Nouveau poster. The first being the already-mentioned Gismonda.
     The American artist was and is often referred to as the “American Beardsley,“ after the British illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. Bradley‘s work shows obvious influence from the British artist that was considered one of the biggest Art Nouveau artists at the turn of the century. The two artists share similarities in line, color, and contrast. However, most of Bradley‘s work lacks the dark sensibilities that pervaded the majority of Beardsley‘s work. Bradley‘s work is often contemplative, serene, or upbeat.
     At the age of 28, Will Bradley established his own press in Springfield, Mass and began publishing
a periodical called “Bradley: His Book,“ containing articles on topics related to art and
printing and containing advertisements and other illustrations drafted by
Bradley himself.

    However, Bradley found the stress of running his
own business was too great, despite his ultimate goal
to produce “better and more refined art that walks hand in hand with business.“ He was over-
stressed, bad at delegating, and neglecting
his wife and family. He sold his
publishing company to The
University Press of Boston in
1897. Then he once again
found himself able
to freelance and
focus on design
alone.

During the course of his lifetime
Will Bradley designed well over fifty covers,
along with many illustrations for advertising and
publications of all sorts. Many art historians argue that he
brought Art Nouveau to America. This may be true, but there
is no doubting that he made good use of the movement‘s signature
features and style. He had a fairly successful career even without former
schooling or training, and lived to an extremely ripe old age.

He won critical acclaim for his works at the chicago international exhibiton and
exhibited at the parisian gallery La Maison de L'Art Nouveau. He created covers and posters
for magazines and newspapers such as Harpers, Chicago Tribune, Echo and Inland Printer.
He was most noted for The Chap-Book which began in 1894 and was published by Stone and Kimball."