When my interest in graphic design started, one of the first things that caught my attention were the primitive, often cheezy, ads of the 50s and 60s that were found in magazines, comics and flyers. The sort of stuff created quickly by some unnamed art guy and then promptly packaged and sold off to hundreds of printing firms across the country as camera-ready art…or as we know it nowadays, clipart.
Something about the lighthearted earnestness of the illustrations charmed me to no end and started a quest for any examples I could find. Not too soon afterwards I hit paydirt at a community newspaper I worked at. A pal and I came across a huge folder of images which were destined for the trash. We not only rescued them, but also gave them a second life by using them for comedic illustrations we’d pass around the office.
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In life there are few things that one can reasonably expect to not be too surprised about. Condiments come to mind. Paprika is paprika, right? And while I am sure Hunts and Heinz ketchup have their adherents, its doubtful substituting one for the other is nothing more than a mild annoyance. So it was a pretty big surprise when I found myself inexplicably drawn to Japanese mayonnaise.
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Richard Scarry. The name first came to me after my brother was born in the early 70s and several of Scarry’s books found their way into our household. Compared to the typical Sesame Street books, these immediately caught my eye. In fact, I probably spent as much time as my brother poring over the pages and
marveling at the personalities Scarry was able to inject into his charming animal characters. They didn’t even seem like animals at all…but people I knew. Having drawn mostly drag racing cars up until then, I started experimenting with copying some of his characters, trying to find what made them so real and warm. Needless to say…I could not come close.
So imagine my surprise when eons later I ran across an interesting Scarry related set on Flickr. It carefully compared two versions of The Best Word Book Ever. A 1963 printing vs. a 1991 printing. While some of the gender roles changes are predictable, other changes are simply baffling. Palette changes, reimaginings of certain characters (often with less personality). It really makes one try to get into Scarry’s head. Fascinating stuff. And judging by the page hits on these scans (around 44,000 last I checked) I’m not the only one who find this interesting.
The Best Word Book Ever, 1963 and 1991
Another great Scarry related link. Excerpts from his Golden Book of Manners:
Golden Book of Manners, 1962
When my interest in graphic design started, one of the first things that caught my attention were the primitive, often cheezy, ads of the 50s and 60s that were found in magazines, comics and flyers. The sort of stuff created quickly by some unnamed art guy and then promptly packaged and sold off to hundreds of printing firms across the country as camera-ready art…or as we know it nowadays, clipart.