Pierre Mendell At First Sight Cover

Pierre Mendell

At first sight

Everyday Graphic Design

The design of Pierre Mendell (1929–2008) is characterised by elements which are missing in large part of contemporary graphic design: pithy impact, communicative force, poetry and humour. The unfailing topicality and importance of his work shows that visual communication based on idea and context is more durable than those subject to the dictates of electronics. Mendell’s cultural posters and corporate design programs are timelessly contemporary and modern. The publication aims to encourage designers to trust in the power of the idea and of simple forms and to see their work as cultural expression of the wider society.

The design of Pierre Mendell (1929–2008) is characterised by elements which are missing in large part of contemporary graphic design: pithy impact, communicative force, poetry and humour. The unfailing topicality and importance of his work shows that visual communication based on idea and context is more durable than those subject to the dictates of electronics. Mendell’s cultural posters and corporate design programs are timelessly contemporary and modern. The publication aims to encourage designers to trust in the power of the idea and of simple forms and to see their work as cultural expression of the wider society.

This book is also available in German

Author(s): Pierre Mendell

With photographs by Pierre Mendell

24 x 30 cm, 9 x 11 ¾ in

200 pages, ca 160 illustrations

hardback

2001, 978-3-907044-49-0, English
CHF 35.00

Pierre Mendell

For over forty years, graphic designer Pierre Mendell (1958-2008) has shaped the everyday culture of visual communication in Germany. Mendell studied graphic design with Armin Hofmann at the Basel School of Design and founded the Mendell & Oberer studio in Munich together with Klaus Oberer in 1961. From 1980 onwards, he was the in-house designer at Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum and from the 1990s at the Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper) in Munich. In these roles he was given utmost creative freedom to experiment with his graphic vernacular and he shaped the Munich cityscape for years with his innovative posters.