Eric’s presentation will focus on how the acclaimed British designer Peter Saville, and his groundbreaking work at Factory Records, influenced postmodern design, along with an examination of the music and ideas that made this design phenomenon possible. The talk will lurch from Situationism in France in the late 1960s, to protopunk and punk rock in the ’70s, to the post-punk and new wave era of Joy Division, The Durutti Column, Cabaret Voltaire, and New Order.

There’ll be plenty of music, of course. And images: scroll down this page to sample a few.

Eric, an alumnus of Art Center’s Graphic Design department, now runs the design firm National People’s Gang. His clients include AT&T, PBS, Disney, and Jaguar Motors. He’s also a news writer, editor, and creative consultant.

April 26th, 2013, 11 AM
“Postmodern Suicide”
Eric Mathias, guest speaker
Loyola Marymount University
Burns Art Center, Room 211
1 LMU Drive, L.A. 90045

Click here for campus maps and driving directions.

The good news for everyone is that he’ll also be a guest speaker at my design history class on Thursday evening, February 28th. His topic: “Helvetica and the New York City Subway System.” Come discover how and why the city’s famed subway graphics evolved over the past 40 years. More than a tale of a typeface, it’s a look at the forces that molded a complex and complete signage system.

And the good news for those of you on the west side of town is that Paul will reprise his Helvetica/Subway presentation at my LMU design history class the next morning, Friday, March 1st.

Finally, the best news is that both presentations are free and open to all. So plan to attend either one, invite your friends, and bring along a copy of Paul’s book on the subject for him to sign. Here are the dates, times, and locations…

“Helvetica and the NYC Subway System”
Paul Shaw, guest speaker

Thursday, February 28th at 7 p.m.
my Graphic Design History 2 class at
Art Center College of Design
LAT Media Center, Hillside campus
1700 Lida Street, Pasadena

Click here for a map and directions to the Hillside Campus.

and…

Friday, March 1st at 11 a.m.
my History of Design class at
Loyola Marymount University
room 211, Burns Art Center
1 LMU Drive, L.A. 90045

Click here for campus maps and driving directions.

Paul’s talk is titled “Eric Gill: The Evolution of a Typeface.” He notes that of Gill Sans, Joanna, and many other faces, “Perpetua was Eric’s most used inscriptional style” and “probably was the most obvious of his early serifs that translated well into a complete family to be manufactured by Monotype.”

The above quotes are from my recent imPrint interview with Paul, in which he also discusses Mad Men, Australian style. You can read in its entirety here.

See more Gill images below. Friday’s event is free and everyone’s invited to attend, and to visit the exhibit afterward. Here are the details…

Friday, February 15th at 11:15 a.m.
“Eric Gill: The Evolution of a Typeface”
Paul Soady, guest speaker
Michael Dooley’s History of Design class
Loyola Marymount University
room 211, Burns Art Center
1 LMU Drive, L.A. 90045
Click here for campus maps and driving directions.

You’ve seen the movie, now see the lithographs.

At the same time Victor Hugo was writing Les Misérables, about the plight of the poor in France, Honoré Daumier was graphically illustrating their wretched living conditions. He was also an active participant in the Paris uprising featured in the novel.

Famous for his powerful use of caricature and symbols to instigate political reform, Daumier was even imprisoned for sedition when he satirized the French king. Undeterred, he continued to produce a torrent of lithographs over the decades which ridiculed royalty, the clergy, lawyers, and all manner of the bourgeoisie. Hugo himself was a patron of Daumier.

And now you can attend “Brush With Power: Daumier and American Cartooning,” a presentation by Harry L. Katz, at my LMU History of Design class on Friday, February 8th, at 11 a.m. It’s a free event. And the public is welcome, so bring along your friends.

Harry is a specialist in American graphic art. Author, editor, and former Head Curator in the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress, he’s written extensively on political cartoons and comic art. His lavishly illustrated talk will focus on the influence of both Daumier and lithographic printing on American graphics.

As Harry puts it, “For Daumier, the invention of lithography in the early 19th century made all the difference. The new power and fluidity he could achieve transformed his art, adding depth, modeling, and monumentality. Harnessing the new medium and reveling in the artistic freedom it represented compared with traditional etchings or engravings, Daumier became a political phenomenon and role model for artistic activism.

“Daumier exerted an enormous and often overlooked influence among American cartoonists, illustrators, and fine artists who sought inspiration in his example. Their large number included Winslow Homer, Robert Minor [below], and John Sloan as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists Herbert Block, Bill Mauldin, and Pat Oliphant. Like an Old Master, Daumier’s influence as an artist and social critic has been pervasive. It’s expanded his legacy and set a standard for future generations.”

So join us in the Burns 211 media room at Loyola Marymount University’s Burns Art Center for this presentation.

Following the talk you’re invited to visit “ICONographer,” the new exhibition of typography and illustrations by the controversial graphic designer Eric Gill. It’s at the nearby Laband Art Gallery, and it’s also free. Read about it here and click here for campus maps.

Summary:
“Brush With Power: Daumier and American Cartooning”
Harry L. Katz, guest speaker at Michael Dooley’s History of Design class
Friday, February 8th at 11 a.m.
Loyola Marymount University
room 211, Burns Art Center
1 LMU Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90045

President of Sussman/Prejza, a trailblazer in the development of distinctive and successful visual communication for the built environment, Deborah pioneered the field of Environmental Graphic Design. Her contributions to “urban branding” have been internationally applauded and have influenced generations of designers.

Sussman Prejza developed the look of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Other clients include Disney, Hasbro, Museum of the African Diaspora, Amgen, and SC Johnson. Honors include Dr. of Humane Letters, Bard College; Medalist, AIGA; founder and Fellow, AIGA Los Angeles Chapter; Honorary member, AIA; Fellow and recipient of SEGD Golden Arrow Award; elected member of AGI.

This is a very special opportunity to learn from Deborah’s experience and wisdom. She’ll also discuss her career-defining relationship with design legends Charles and Ray Eames. So join us in the LAT Media Center on Art Center’s Hillside campus at 1700 Lida Street, Pasadena. And be sure to invite your friends.

Paula Scher called Mike “an earth-shattering, powerful designer of important imagery.” With fifty years of experience in art direction and branding, and with clients like Steven Spielberg and LucasFilms, A+M and MGM, Levi’s and Gotcha, Disney and Playboy, Honda and Volkswagen, his enormous influence on the editorial, advertising, music, and motion picture fields is inestimable. He’s also earned a “bad boy” reputation for having created one of the world’s most recognized brand images, the notorious Joe Camel.

Mike’s presentation, titled “… the Wild West Years,” will cover his groundbreaking formative work, which includes his iconic, concept-driven publication designs for West, Surfer, Rolling Stone, and Francis Ford Coppola’s City. He’ll also share anecdotes about Michael Jackson, Apocalypse Now, and other celebrity stories.

to recap:

Mike Salisbury
“… the Wild West Years”
Thursday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.
Art Center College of Design
L.A. Times Media Center
1700 Lida Street
Pasadena, CA  91103
> open to the public
> free admission
> no reservations required
> free parking in student lot
Looking forward!

Andrew’s work explores the conventions of typographic design in three dimensions, using unfamiliar applications, materials, and processes to define new forms. The work acknowledges typographic conventions and principles while it addresses more architectural considerations, including physical strength and structural integrity. This development has led to a natural foray into the field of environmental graphic design, where he’s begun collaborating on projects for the built environment.

Andrew’s clients have included AIGA Los Angeles, Du Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Penguin Books, Sagmeister Inc., and UCLA Extension. His work’s been exhibited in design venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia, and honored by The Type Directors Club and the AIGA.

The video of Andrew at TEDx UCLA I’ve posted at imPrint will give you a little taste of his talk.

And here’s the event poster, designed by LMU student Kelly Chronis…

above design by Kelly Chronis

Arlen is an acclaimed illustrator and an award-winning designer and comic book historian. Some of you may remember him performing to a packed house at my Loyola Marymount University History of Design class, on “The Graphic Design of Comic Book Art.” Well, by popular demand he’s returning from New York to reprise that talk on Wednesday, November 7th, this time for AIGA/LA. Click here for info on that one. Meanwhile, here’s the Art Center news…

Arlen will also be premiering his very latest presentation at my Art Center Design History 2 class the following evening. This one’s called “Illustration & Comic Art: A Shared History” and it starts at 7:30 pm on Thursday, November 8th. It’ll be held in the Board Room; check the floor plan below. And see the event poster here.

Comic art has always been a fount of incredible, and incredibly beautiful, pure illustration, from its early 20th century comic strips on through its evolution into comic books and today’s graphic novels. And to explore that territory Arlen has created a brand new “VisualLecture” – his term for his energized, super-graphic take on the typically staid art history talks – specifically for this class session.

He’ll provide an overview of the twin mediums and how they’ve intersected, and how they intersect in his own comic art styled illustration and design work. And his talk will run the gamut from the traditional to the new “Multimedia” artists, including Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Bill Sienkiewicz, Howard Chaykin, Alex Ross, Dave McKean, David Mack, and J.H. Williams.

As with Arlen’s past performances, you can expect to be simultaneously enlightened and entertained.

And as always, this event is free and open to the public. So tell your friends and your social network buddies, especially those who are interested in creativity and innovation in comics and illustration art.

To recap:
Arlen Schumer
“Illustration & Comic Art”
Thursday, November 8th, 7:30 pm
Art Center College of Design
Board Room, Hillside campus
1700 Lida Street, Pasadena
Free event, free parking
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Lots of special guest speakers coming up in my “Design History 2″ time slot this semester. Dates below. Mark your calendars. Further info on all events to follow.

• Thursday, Oct. 25th, 7:30 pm, LAT Media Center  –
“Petrula Vrontikis’s 3×3: Type Guys”
Kyle Cooper: Founder, Prologue and Imaginary Forces, creative film design agencies.
Jeremy Mende: Principal at MendeDesign, San Francisco visual communications firm; Associate Professor at CCA.
Simon Johnston: Designer; artist; Print Emphasis Faculty Director in Art Center’s Graphic Design Dept.

• Thursday, Nov. 1st, 7 pm, LAT Media Center  –
“Visual Communication for the Built Environment”
Deborah Sussman: President at Sussman/Prejza, environmental graphic design company.

• Thursday, Nov. 8th, 7:30 pm, Board Room  –
“Illustration and Comic Art: Intersections”
Arlen Schumer: Editorial and advertising illustrator; author; comic book historian.

• Thursday, Nov. 15th, 7:30 pm, LAT Media Center  –
“Branding the West Coast”
Mike Salisbury: Legendary brand designer for film, music, advertising, and publication companies.

Bonus speaker event at my Loyola Marymount University class…
• Friday, Nov. 16th, 11 am, Burns Art Center, room 211  –
“The Art and Design of Letterforms”
Andrew Byrom: Graphic designer; typeface designer; CSULB professor.

3×3: Type Guys*
Three men that have crafted the way typography is seen, understood, and interacted with.

Thursday, October 25th, 2012
7:30pm – 9:30pm

Los Angeles Times Media Center (LAT)
Art Center College of Design, Hillside Campus
1700 Lida Street, Pasadena, CA 91103

Kyle Cooper Founder, Prologue and Imaginary Forces
Jeremy Mende FAAR, Principal at MendeDesign and Associate Professor at CCA
Simon Johnston Designer/Artist/Professor and Faculty Director of the Print Area of Emphasis, Graphic Design Department Art Center College of Design

Kyle Cooper holds an MFA from The Yale School of Art, where he studied independently with Paul Rand. In 1996 he named and founded Imaginary Forces. In 2003 he founded Prologue Films. Details magazine credits Cooper with “almost single-handedly revitalizing the main title sequence as an art form”  “Not since Saul Bass’ legendary preludes…have credits attracted such attention,” declares Wired. Cooper is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and holds the title of Royal Designer for Industry from the Royal Society (of the Arts) in London.

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Jeremy Mende is an American designer who lives and works in San Francisco, California. Mende holds a BA in psychology from UCLA and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 2000 he founded MendeDesign, a creative practice that balances commercial projects with visual research and public art. Mende is an associate professor of design at the California College of the Arts, and in 2010-11, he was the Rome Prize Fellow in Design at the American Academy in Rome.

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Simon Johnston was educated at Bath Academy of Art in England and the Kunstgewerbeschule, Basel, Switzerland. In England he founded the design practice 8vo, as well as the influential typographic journal Octavo. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 1989, he has run his own design office, Simon Johnston Design, with a particular emphasis on typography, especially book and catalogue work for museums and galleries. Johnston has taught typography and design at Art Center for twenty years. He is currently faculty director of the print area of emphasis in the Graphic Design department. In addition to his teaching and design practice, he works on his own art and photography projects.

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* Each term the Graphic Design Department hosts 3 local professionals to speak on a particular topic.