Visual design in action: principles, purposes. by Sutnar Ladislav - 1961

Offering: An extraordinary example of this landmark information design work. The rare Ladislav Sutnar presentation was made for Bernard Rudofsky and is done as an integrated design in Sutnar's functional streamlining style, using a colon symbol for concision and clarity. Like Sutnar, Rudofsky was born in the Czech Republic and had a lasting impact on design in the United States. As a theorist and author, he advocated body centered design, with its emphasis on heightening the senses and the human experience, and, as a curator of design exhibitions, particularly at MOMA, he is indelibly associated with such innovative exhibitions as, "Are Clothes Modern?" (1944-45), and "Architecture Without Architects" (1964-65) with its focus on vernacular architecture. He was also the co-designer of the Bernardo Sandal, (with his partner and spouse, Berta), introduced in 1946 and renowned for its comfort. The 'it' woman's sandal of the 60s, it was a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Bernard Rudofsky's archives are at the Getty Museum. Importance: In the early 1960s, Ladislav Sutnar's friends initiated a traveling exhibition curated by Allon Schoener to publicize Sutnar's work. A catalog was issued, "Ladislav Sutnar: Visual Design in Action". The book, following on the exhibition, was intended to demonstrate the possibilities of Sutnar's visual language. Encompassing his life work, it was his magnum opus with every aspect of its design done by him, including the layout, illustrations, and the book and jacket design (the latter, an exquisite synthesis of geometry and black and white color.) Sutnar also supervised the high quality production, which has never been duplicated in subsequent editions. The book has been called, "arguably the most intellectually stimulating modern design book since Tschichold's Die Neue Typographic." [Steven Heller] Condition: Near Good. Book: Good / Jacket: Near Good / Binding: Excellent / Presentation: Fine. Pages: clean, color designs uniformly bright and fresh, except sheets in second portfolio section toned, as customary, pages from p. 118 with tip bend. Endpapers: front excellent / rear poor, no tears or chips but five pairs of tacky residue spots, four in a row along gutter, no continuation in. / Boards: bright and clean; upper side with light tip rubs; lower side with bumped corner. / Book Jacket: Overall rubs, fore-edge with slight toning, jacket flaps with scattered foxing, spine browned with scattered foxing and scattered adjacent foxing, primarily at upper side; upper side also with some crown wear and vertical gutter tear, lower side with upper corner wear including, an irregular tear with slight loss. Pagination: Complete, 188 unnumbered pages profusely illustrated with 36 pages of superb full-page color illustrations and 342 b/w illustrations. "Sutnar made Constructivism playful." [Noel Martin] Size: 315 x 222 mm (12.4 x 8.74 inches). Edition Note: Production supervised by Ladislav Sutnar, color portfolios and introductory and closing sections offset printed by Lynn Art Offset, principal texts printed from type by Sterlip Press on Champion Kromekote cast coated enamel paper, written with assistance from Henry T. Langham and John V. Dvorsky, the preface by Mildred Constantine. Additional Images: by request.