400+ Words about my Designer

Bradbury Thompson was born not too far from our own university here in Lawrence – he was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1911. He was educated at Washburn University, where he studied printing production. There he developed his skills as a student editor and designer. Thompson learned the printing business, from typesetting to binding, and graduated in the year 1934. He kept in contact with the university throughout his graphic design career and later worked with Washburn University to create the Washburn College Bible. This book is considered to be the “most significant development in Bible typography since Gutenberg first published his masterpiece in 1455” (RIT Libraries). Thompson also developed more than ninety stamp designs, making him the most prolific of American stamp designers. His unique employment of the letter press process produced an unprecedented typographic style and book spread layouts. One of his successful typographic projects was his publication of Alphabet 26, labeled as a monoalphabet, which “contained only 26 unique characters, case was established by size only instead of entirely new characters (i.e. r/R, e/E, a/A)” (Design Is History).  His name dominated the graphic designer commotion throughout his career.

One of his most well-known contributions to the design world is his letter press work for the Westvaco Corporation. “Westvaco Inspirations was a promotional journal produced by the Westvaco Corporation, formerly known as the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. The purpose of the journal was to highlight the printing processes and quality of paper achieved by the Westvaco paper Mills” (RIT Libraries). Thompson produced more than 60 issues of the Westvaco Inspirations, all of which displayed his excellent intuition for strong design. Overall, his work is characterized by bold, contrasting, and layered colors (similar to those you would see by using pure printer ink, such as Magenta, Cyan, Yellow, Black and the mixture of them) and distinctive combinations of typographic and graphic features. “He has explored and expanded the relationship of type  with photography, with primitive and folk art, and even with the evanescent patterns of the performing arts and children’s play” (J. Carter Brown, Art of Graphic Design). Specifically, his pages for the Westvaco Inspirations typically demonstrated visually balanced arrangements of text, symbols, and graphics, all united with his exceptional understanding of color relations. “Brad Thompson adapted the fine arts to his own use in innovative ways: exploring new combinations of type and image in Westvaco Inspirations; reusing period engravings to illustrate classic American books; and illustrating with Old Master paintings the King James Bible” (J. Carter Brown, Art of Graphic Design).

Two quotes from the designer I found particularly interesting:

 

“There is no creative aspect of graphic design more rewarding than the indulgence in play.” 

~Bradbury Thompson

“Each letter is based on a traditional geometric shape, and when one is placed together with others of its kind, new graphic designs come to life”

~Bradbury Thompson

 

Works Cited

"1977 Hall of Fame: Bradbury Thompson." Art Directors Club: 1977 Hall of Fame. Art

Directors Club, 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1977/?id=277>.

"Bradbury Thompson." Design Is History. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.designishistory.com/1960/bradbury-thompson/>.

"Bradbury Thompson." RIT Libraries. Rochester Institute of Technology. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.
 <http://library.rit.edu/gda/designer/bradbury-thompson>.

Brown, J. C. "An Appreciation." Foreword. Bradbury Thompson: The Art of Graphic Design. By

Bradbury Thompson. New Haven: Yale UP, 1988. Viii-Ix. Print.

"Westvaco Inspirations - Design by Bradbury Thompson." Grain Edit. Grainedit, 2007. Web. 15

Apr. 2012. <http://grainedit.com/2008/02/04/westvaco-inspirations-design-by-bradbury-

thompson/>.